Peterhead Prison Entry Ticket
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
The tour describes the regime in Scotland's only "Convict" prison.
The tour describes how it housed Britain's first "state owned" railway and you will see former carriages and fittings, that were used in the railway.
The tour describes and shows visitors how the famous SAS were used to end a dramatic 4 day siege in 1987.
The tour will walk you through 125 years of turbulent history of Scotland's only high security prison.
The tour will tease all your senses, from the visual, to the audio and olfactory leaving you thinking an inmate might just walk round the next corner.
The tour is now a multi award winning visitor attraction and graded as a 5* attraction by Visit Scotland.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Peterhead Prison Museum
Our 5* Multi-Award winning visitor attraction is set within the former HM Convict Prison, Peterhead. Unique in many ways including being the only "Convict" prison in Scotland [to come here meant you were sentenced to "penal servitude"]; It had the first "state owned" railway in Britain; and it was the only time the Special Air Service were used to end a domestic siege on mainland UK when an officer was held hostage for 4 day's in 1987. All your senses will be teased as you walk the galleries and halls where you are surrounded by the visual, our award winning audio tour will bring you into moments in time as you listen to former officers tell their stories and your olfactory senses will be in overdrive at key locations on the route. Walk in the footsteps of former officers and inmates of "Scotland's Toughest Jail" often referred to as "Scotland's Alcatraz". This is a once in a life time experience and one that will live with you for many year's to come
What‘s Included
Audio set
Meeting points
Peterhead Prison Museum
South Road Peterhead United Kingdom
End points
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
Options
Peterhead Prison Entry Ticket
Reviews
701 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Museum prion explore
davidsY4671JH,Mar 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fascinating great day out loved it.
Visit with 11 year old son
kimmQ6917UT,Mar 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I visited with my 11 year old son who loved it! For a boy who loves gaming it was great to spend time with him doing something different and to see him learning something new. We did our own tour with the headset which was great at giving you lots of information and gave you time to explore at your own pace. Staff were lovely and the cafe was a great pit stop at the end.
Prison visit
Frank l,Mar 14, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very interesting visit showing how prisoners were kept until recently. Excellent cafeteria on site.
Brilliant. Inexpensive, thought provoking experience
R8895UXtanyat,Mar 11, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What a great find for a cold winters day out. Booked seamlessly online for self guided tour. Audio was included, very well done and really informative. Reception staff were friendly and helpful. It was a cold day which added to the atmosphere of the experience. There was plenty time to enjoy the visit. Some of the exhibits left me speechless!! Cafe at the end of journey through the prison was perfect, cosy and welcoming. Again staff were friendly and helpful. Soup n a toastie was great. All in all I’d recommend as an inexpensive day out. Keep up the good work
Very enjoyable
O326AIchristinaw,Mar 11, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00There were four of us on the tour and we all thought it was a very good experience. It gave a very good insight into how things used to be in the prison. Very enjoyable.
Excellent experience
Dreamer793323,Mar 6, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A great experience, friendly staff on entry, and David our guide had great knowledge of the prisons history as well as lots of stories about his time in the prison (as a Prison Officer). You get a real feel for how life would have been in the prison. Once the tour is finished you can spend time on your own wandering around the prison and take some pictures. I would recommend warm clothing, it is as cold inside as it is outside.
Please do not pass this prison, you'll never know what you will be missing
fisherking332,Mar 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Maybe not an exterior to jump out to you as an eye opening eperiance, but please dont let lhis put you of. On entry pleasent imformative resption member of staff gave us a headset for indevidual areas of information. The walk into the prison wing is a chilling experiance. Both atmisfericaly and tempriture. As an inmate would experiance. With two main fazes how prison is run. The old hard labour then a more unpleasent reformed system up untill 2013 closure. Do rap up in warm cloths as it was sited not to be a plesent punishment. As for the cafe, well once again a warm welcom nice menu with lovely warm soup. Breackfast roll and backed tattie exelent.
A must visit attraction
gigfan,Mar 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fantastic day out and will definitely be back. Our tour guide David who was an ex prison officer was both informative and entertaining and made an already enjoyable day even more so. We would highly recommend the guided tour based on our experience. Cafe was also very good with views across the bay.
Fascinating experience, well worth the ticket price
sarahjtayl0r,Mar 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Booked the 1.5 hour tour, guided by ex prison officer David. We were able to see many areas of the prison, all of which were brought to life by our guide. He told us some fascinating, frightening and funny stories about life in prison, including experience from his own time as a guard. David was very entertaining and engaging, he really brought everything to life and was open to answer any questions we had along the way. The tour was brilliantly done, taking time to look back to the time the prison was built, right up to recent times before it closed. Recommend anyone to visit, there’s a lot packed into the price of the ticket. Ps. There’s a nice looking cafe on site, with a great view out to sea, but it was jam-packed when we visited so couldn’t get a table.
Great day out!
caitlinmarym2021,Mar 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a fantastic visit, our tour Guide Davie Smith was great! Really made our visit with his knowledge and humour. Highly recommend!
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