Thousands of visitors met stars from the Time Team when some of the television personalities turned up at Corfe Castle in Dorset for a festival of archaeology.
Favourites from the one time Channel 4 show which has now become an online sensation on YouTube and Patreon joined in the fun at the National Trust property on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July 2025.
As dusk fell over Corfe Castle, the Geodome lit up
A tapestry in the style of Bayeux told the history of Corfe Castle
Screening in famous Geodome
And the night before it started, after dusk fell over Corfe Castle, Time Team presenters Dani Wootton and Naomi Sewpaul presented a special screening of The Secrets of Wytch Farm, a feature length presentation of a three-day dig in Purbeck during September 2023.
The screening took place in the Time Team’s famous geodome tent, which was put up in the castle grounds by a team of National Trust volunteers including the NT Rangers who moved everything into place using a tractor which only just fitted through the gateway of the 1,000 year old castle.
A Bayeux Tapestry style artwork telling the history of Corfe Castle was hung around the inside of the Geodome, which also featured props and finds from the show and plenty of dressing up costumes so that everyone could get into the reenactment spirit.
To the delight of a sell-out audience for the screening, there was a specially prerecorded welcome message from the Time Team’s most famous face, Blackadder actor Sir Tony Robinson.
The Time Team Geodome was set up in the Outer Bailey for the weekend
A whole array of activities was organised for the festival of archaeology
“I used to march around for hours”
Tony Robinson, who is still involved with the programme, said:
“Corfe Castle is my favourite castle, as it’s the castle of my childhood. All my holidays were on the south coast when I was little, and we always used to go to Corfe.
“I just used to march around the ramparts for hours on end holding a pretend sword over my shoulder, peering through the little slits, looking for invaders outside.
“I was completely swept away by its magic. I think if there is one place that has imbued in me a sense of the excitement of English history, it has to be Corfe Castle.”
Guided walks were held around the castle after the Time Team tent was set up
Time Team presenter Naomi Sewpaul – and a knitted version of the legendary Mick Aston – tried out the castle’s thrones
Guided walks around castle
Throughout the weekend, there were archaeological activities, ancient craft demonstrations, and storytelling tours with the Keeper of the Castle.
Guided walks around the castle were led by National Trust archaeologist Martin Papworth and castle historian Pam White.
Time Team director Emily Boulting gave a talk on what happens behind the scenes on the show, and buildings archaeologist Dr Richard Parker gave an insight into the wonderful illustrations he does for the programme.
There was plenty of medieval dressing up costumes for visitors to try on
Experts were on hand to give an insight into medieval pottery
“Huge thankyou to National Trust”
Time Team presenter Dani Wootton said:
“It was wonderful for the Time Team to be at Corfe Castle for the festival, we had all sorts of archaeological activities in the geotent, including Naomi with her floatation tanks.
“We must give a huge thank you to National Trust Corfe Castle, and to the Purbeck Film Festival for arranging the showing of The Secrets of Wytch Farm as part of the wider festival, which was very well attended and huge fun!
“We welcomed over 2,700 visitors across the weekend, the mock excavations proved particularly popular with families, and the guided walks discovering past excavations at the castle were really well attended.
“There was a great atmosphere inside the Time Team geodome for the sell-out screening and a lovely prerecorded welcome message from Sir Tony, which was really special. It was a special atmosphere screening the episode as the sun set over the castle.”
“For the rest of the weekend, there was a chance for visitors to try medieval crafts such as blacksmithing, leather working, stone masonry and tile making, along with guided walks, behind the scenes talks, story telling and dressing up – we particularly enjoyed the dressing up!”
Environmental archaeologist Naomi Sewpaul and Siggy Osborne of Bournemouth University during the dig at Wytch Farm
Blacksmith Alistair Butcher from ABforgeworks in Corfe Castle, forged trowels for the Festival of Archaeology
Discoveries made at Wytch Farm
The Festival of Archaeology continues at Corfe Castle until the end of July 2025.
For those who missed the chance to hear from the Time Team crew, Dorset archaeologist Derek Pitman will return on Thursday 31st July 2025.
He will talk about the discoveries made at Wytch Farm and their importance towards understanding the relationship between the Roman conquerors of Purbeck and the tribes who already lived here, and also about the process of filming archaeology for TV.
National Trust Rangers helped to set up the Time Team Geodome…
… Even though access through the castle gates was something of a squeeze!
Corfe Castle archaeology events July 2025
- Wednesday 23rd from 10 am to 4 pm: Meet Purbeck’s Heritage Archaeology ranger team volunteers in North Barn and learn how they help to conserve over 700 sites on the Purbeck National Trust estate. Archaeological walks from North Barn leave at 10.30 am and 2 pm.
- Monday 28th from 10.30 am to 4 pm: Archaeology workshop in North Barn, in the field below the castle, find out about the important part Studland played in D Day, use a quern stone to make flour, and have a go at making ‘poor man’s pepper’.
- Wednesday 30th at 2 pm: Starting from Castle View welcome centre, guided walk ‘A Tale of Two Mills’ will explore the history and archaeology of the two watermills below and either side of Corfe Castle.
- Thursday 31st at 7 pm: At Castle View welcome centre, Time Team’s Derek Pitman leads a talk about their 2023 Wytch Farm archaeological excavation including a behind the scenes look at the process of filming archaeology for TV.
The Time Team crew brought a lot of energy to the Corfe Castle festival of archaeology
Time Team has found a new audience on life after its Channel 4 run finished in 2014 after 20 years
Further information
- A full summer programme of events at Corfe Castle is on the National Trust website
- Find out what the Time Team is up to on its website
