Peterhead Prison Museum 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 Museum Ticket
Reviews
665 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Brilliant Visit
U1852GSmichelleh,,Dec 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Would highly recommend a tour of the old prison. We opted for a self guided tour so provided with a headset etc which we could pause and start at any point. I would also recommend the guided tour as I’m pretty sure the guys know more and can share real stories/memories of times when they had to work with the prisoners. Very educational tour and apart from the fact it was absolutely freezing I enjoyed the day. Plenty of seats around the prison to rest (thank god says me with a sore back) The cafe is run by a friendly lady who made the best soup/bacon & sausage roll…not forgetting the best cuppa to warm us up. Shared interesting stories, told us about a prisoner that spent 22yrs for a murder then actually visited the prison recently…wow! Must have been an interesting trip down memory lane for him! Interesting plans about what they have planned for the prison in the future. Would be so good for school trips too…very educational for them. I’ll deffo be back however, was great to have freedom to get back home to some heat! ☕️
Informative, interesting and funny.
Trip63970486846,,Dec 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My Partner and I arrived at 11:30am on the dot just as the tour had started, the desk staff and Davie (more on him shortly) had no problems quickly letting us pay and join the guided tour. I felt that was great service and wouldn’t expect it. To the tour itself, David a former guard at Peterhead for 25 years took the tour, where else can you get an historical tour with a guide with that experience? The tour was informative and hilarious, David has a rare gift in making you feel comfortable and welcomes questions of any kind and will always do his best to answer. We spent 2hrs with him and at no point was I bored. The prison itself has recreations from the 1800’s up to its closure in 2013. I found it incredibly interesting. I will definitely return for a visit again in the future. We had no intention of taking the guided tour but I recommend that everyone does if you have the opportunity.
Excellent guided tour
failtedakota,,Dec 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I booked a guided tour as something to do during the holiday lull. Our guide, David Smith, was a guard at the prison for 25 years and gave us some great history and stories of the prison and notable prisoners. He gave us information with a care of his charges and respect for the job. He also had a great sense of humour and made the tour most enjoyable! The only down side was the prison isn’t climate controlled, so if you visit in winter, dress warm!
The friendliness and knowledge of the staff are the catalyst that makes the experience so enjoyable.
miketR3835NL,,Dec 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00First class experience from beginning to end. The staff at reception were really friendly and welcoming whilst I waited for the tour to commence. I'd done the audio tour previously but it bore no comparison to the guided tour which was more informative with our guide Davie an ex officer from the prison regaling us with the history and tales of some of the more notorious guests of the prison told with humour and first hand knowledge of the institution. Thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the visit and a great insight into how tough a jail Peterhead was for both inmates and officers. I would highly recommend this tour.
Must do experience in Peterhead
amberkV4222XQ,,Dec 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Absolutely amazing tour from David!! We learned so much from a real ex prison officer (!), could not have asked for more. Furthermore, he was hilarious! Had a group of 9 adults in stitches. The tour exceeded our expectations, we're so glad we made the trip. David, the A frame was great 👍
Jane was so brilliant. 10/10
pennykey,,Dec 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We met the loveliest staff on this day. Open entry you’re given a pair of headphones and a talker device which explains all of the scenes and history of the prison. This was a fantastic edition because we really know anything about the place. The voice acting and sound effects in the talker really added to the atmosphere as we walked around. Some parts are looking a little run down partly to do with the age of the building and probably partly because of the damp sea air. However it wasn’t terrible and probably not something most people would notice. We enjoyed the view from the cafe at the top end of the prison which was warm and bright. Plenty of parking right at the beginning and at the very end we used the penny press! We collect these so it was fantastic to see it in perfect working order. We visited during the weekend of Peterhead’s SeaFest so we expected it to be busy but we basically had the place to ourselves. We would definitely visit again. A friend told us they do a fright night style halloween event in there which i imagine sounds amazing. Our regular day visit was 10/10 and we were extremely satisfied with the service especially from Jane on reception.
Very interesting
gemmai180,,Dec 7, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We loved our visit to the prison. It was very interesting, I think some of the stories will stay with us for a while. It’s well worth visiting if you’re up in that direction.
Great experience of prison life
jackjG2755ML,,Nov 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Great insight to the prison that only closed in 2013, only one wing open ground floor in D wing ,they should try and open up more ,the Headset commentary was really good but could be better if they managed to get ex prisonsonrs to add input as only staff on commentary. Great solo tour lasted about 2 hours ,well worth the money
Very interesting and informative tour
leavarney,,Nov 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a very interesting educational tour around Peterhead Prison today. David, our guide was very informative and some of his information came from personal experience, as he’d worked at the prison for many years. I think it was advantageous having a former officer giving us the tour. Very good value. Would recommend.
Highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in crime and punishment through
heatheraR1499GC,,Nov 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What an amazing tour. For anyone interested in crime and punishment through time, this is a tour not to be missed. I promised Davey Smith, my guide that I would give him a huge thank you for the awesome tour. The history is fascinating.
Related Experiences
Operated by Peterhead Prison Museum