Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery became just Tullie in 2024, and the rebrand came with actual money: a new entrance, welcome space and Carlisle Gallery opened in April 2025, with more phases to come. For families the maths is the appealing part. Kids go free, an adult pays £8.50, and for £16 the ticket becomes an annual pass.
Galleries open 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, 11am on Sundays. There is no car park, but Castle Car Park on Devonshire Walk is next door, and Carlisle Castle is five minutes' walk, so the two pair naturally. Fair warning: the Border Galleries and Wildlife Dome are shut for redevelopment until around summer 2027, so it is a smaller museum than it will be.
Until 22 November 2026 the Tullie Street Museum puts twenty objects from the collection into venues around Carlisle, each marked with an orange panel, so the city becomes the trail. In October half term there are drop-in family crafts from 1pm to 4pm every day from Saturday 24 October, free for children with a ticketed adult, and craft sessions come back every school holiday.
What it costs: Adult day ticket £8.50, or £16 for an annual pass. Children and under-18s free, carers free.
Little Explorers at Tullie in Carlisle, a gentle themed session for under 5s and their grown up in a different gallery each week. Children free with an adult ticket. Book ahead.
Spooky drop in crafts every afternoon of half term at Tullie in Carlisle, a different make each day. Children go free with an adult day ticket or annual pass.
Two Christmas weekends at Tullie in Carlisle with a festive trail, crafts, stories and face painting, free for children with a paying adult. Santa's grotto is extra and needs booking.
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One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.