HMP Gartree

The booking line opens, Monday to Friday, 8am to midday and 1pm to 4pm Find out about call charges

Prisoners can also book their own visits by speaking to a wing officer and completing the application forms.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 2pm to 4pm

Please note the visiting times include entry into the prison and the search process, we endeavour to ensure everyone gets a minimum of 60 minutes in the visits hall.

The visits centre is open from 1pm and you must be booked in by 2:45pm or you may be refused entry into the visits hall.

The booking line is open Monday to Friday, 8am to midday and 1pm to 4pm Find out about call charges

Find Gartree on a map

The closest railway station is Market Harborough which is about 4 miles from the prison. From the station, you can get a bus (except on Sundays) straight to the prison or you can get a taxi.

There is limited parking at the prison including spaces for Blue Badge holders.

All visitors, aged 16 or older must prove their identity before entering the prison. Read the list of acceptable forms of ID when visiting a prison.

All visitors, including children, will be searched as per local policy to ensure everyone’s safety and establishment security. This will include a dog search, metal detector archway and rub down search. All staff are trained to carry these tasks out whilst maintaining a high standard of professionalism, and respecting decency and individual needs.

Gartree has a strict dress code policy for visitors. The purpose of the policy is to ensure safety and decency during visits; it sets out to safeguard an appropriate family environment, free from trafficking and other inappropriate behaviour.

If you are wearing an inappropriate top underneath your coat, jacket or cardigan and this is all you have to wear, your visit will be refused.

Suitable lockers are available in the Families and Visitors’ Centre. Smaller items can be left in the provided lockers (free to use), which are located inside the visitors centre.

There are strict controls on what you can take into Gartree. You will have to leave almost all of the things you have with you including bags, keys, phones and cameras, in a locker in the Families and Visitors’ Centre. The lockers are free to use. You may take your locker key into the prison along with your proof of ID, which is shown again at the prison reception.

Pushchairs and car seats brought into the Families and Visitors’ Centre cannot be taken into the prison. There is a highchair available for use in the Visits Hall.

If you are a first-time visitor you will be informed of the visiting process by the local PACT team in the Families and Visitors’ Centre before the start of your visit.

There are strict rules in place for your behaviour and the person that you are visiting in the Visits Hall. You will be told the rules by an officer at the start of your visit. If you break the rules, your visit could be cancelled and you could be banned from visiting again.

If you are a first-time visitor you will be informed of the process by the local PACT team before the start of your visit. If you break the rules, your visit could be cancelled, and you could be banned from visiting again.

Gartree has a family-friendly Families and Visitors’ Centre adjacent to the prison, which acts as an initial booking-in and waiting area. The Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) runs the centre and they offer information and support. There are toilet facilities, refreshments available and a children’s play area available to use.

The centre is open from 1pm on visiting days. You must be booked in at the centre by 2:45pm or you may be refused entry into the prison.

You can purchase tokens in the centre to acquire refreshments in the Visits’ Hall for consumption during your visit. You can only purchase tokens using cash and there is no ATM facility at Gartree. The token purchase limit is £50. Any refreshments left over after the visit can be retained by you as a visitor. Prisoners are not allowed to take any of the excess refreshments back to their cells.

In addition to regular family and friends’ visits, Gartree aims to hold 12 Family Days a year, specifically for prisoners with young relatives under the age of 18. The Family Days are organised and run by the PACT staff and allow prisoners to have a more interactive visit with their younger visitors, through play and craft activities.

The Family Days must be applied for by the prisoner and pre-approved before the visitors confirm their attendance. More details on the Family Days and the booking procedure can be obtained by contacting the Pact team directly at [email protected]

Secure video calls at this prison can be requested by prisoners only.

You will receive a notification if a prisoner has requested a video call with you.

These are available during visit days at 2:15pm to 3pm and 3:15pm to 4pm.

Read more about how the Prison video app works

Prisoners have phones in their cells and are able to make calls whenever they wish to whilst in their cell.

Phones do not accept incoming calls so they will always have to call you. They have to buy phone credits to do this.

They can phone anyone named on their list of friends and family. This list is checked by security when they first arrive so it may take a few days before they are able to call.

Officers may listen to phone calls as a way of preventing crime and helping keep people safe.

You can send emails to someone in Gartree using the Email a Prisoner service.

You might also be able to attach photos and receive replies, depending on the rules at Gartree.

You can write at any time.

Include the person’s name and prisoner number on the envelope. If you do not know the prisoner number, use his date of birth instead.

All post, apart from legal letters, will be opened and checked by officers.