HMP Rye Hill, Visits and getting there

Visits are open Wednesday to Saturday between 1245 -1715 hours and 1800-1930 hours. Entry is not allowed in the final 60 minutes of a visits session.

The dedicated booking line is staffed Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) between the hours of 0900 – 1230 and 1330 – 16.30.  To make a booking please call their direct number: +44 (0)1788 523303

The following guidelines apply to visits:

  • When booking your visit, please provide the names of the person(s) visiting, and confirm that these are the   names on the VO sent out by the prisoner.
  • On each visit a maximum of three adults are allowed, with accompanying children
  • Visiting places will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and, other than in an emergency, social   visits must be booked at least 48 hours in advance.
  • Visits can be booked up to a maximum of 28 days in advance and preferably at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Please inform the person you are visiting of the date and time of your booked visit as this allows them to   prepare for the visit and attend the Visits Hall at the correct time.

On arrival you will be directed to report to the Visitors’ Centre for initial registration. Please try to arrive at least twenty minutes prior to the starting time of your visit, to ensure that the entry searching process does not delay the start of your visit. In the Visitors’ Centre you will need to produce your Visiting Order (VO) and acceptable form of identification. Adult visitors will also be enrolled within the Visitor Registration Scheme (VRS), and receive a bar-coded or similar data-specific identification tag or non-removable bracelet.

Social visitors are not permitted to take hand baggage beyond the Visitors’ Centre, and locker facilities are available for safe storage of such items. Please retain the key during your visit. At this point you will also be informed of the maximum amount of money that you may take into the prison for the purpose of purchasing light refreshments during your visit.

Once registered, you will be called forward to the Entry Building Visitors’ Entrance for searching. Your identification will be rechecked and you will be directed across to the Visits Hall.

If you are bringing babies or small children into the prison and require a pram/stroller, we will provide one for your use during your visit. Your own pram/stroller will be placed into the storage area until after the visit. Children frequently find difficulty in coping with prison visiting, play facilities are therefore provided in HMP Rye Hill for children both in the Visitors’ Centre and within the Visits Hall. Short videos and toys provided within the children’s play area help keep the children entertained. Children who behave in a disruptive manner can ruin other prisoner and family visiting time and we encourage parents to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour.

All visitors to HMP Rye Hill are searched on entry to the prison. Consent to being searched is a precondition of entry into any G4S prison, and notices to this effect can be seen displayed in the Visitors’ Centre and in the entrances to the prison. Exit searching will also take place following every visiting session.

Searching will be carried out with due regard for the dignity of the individual and his/her possessions. Manual searching by staff will be supplemented by the use of x-ray and metal detection equipment, drug detection dogs and equipment, and CCTV surveillance. Children under ten years of age will always be searched by female members of staff. Arrangements for the searching of infants will specifically require the parent or carer to observe the process.

Drug and explosive detection equipment will be deployed in the Visitor Entrance Search Area, supplemented by periodic use of passive drug detection (‘sniffer’) dogs.

Once searching has been completed, adult visitors will be UV hand stamped, and all visitors will then move to the Visits Hall. The Visiting Order (VO) will be handed to the Visits Supervisor, and you will be directed to a pre-selected and numbered table.

Seating arrangements are designed as to place prisoners in specific seats that are visually identifiable. Prisoners will not be allowed to sit on seats other than those provided for their use. The same applies also to visitors. Please be aware that CCTV is in operation in the Visits Hall. Explicit sexual, indecent or other antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated and contravention of these rules may result in early termination of the visit.

At the conclusion of the visiting session, prisoners will remain in the Visits Hall until all their visitors have been accounted for and have left the building. UV verification will ensure that only visitors leave the Visits building, and VRS verification will ensure that only visitors leave the Gate/Entry Building. Prisoners will be accounted for also, prior to the Visits Hall being vacated. The Visits Hall is designated a non-smoking area in the interests of public health. Signs to this effect will be prominently displayed. No tobacco products should be carried into visits by prisoners or visitors.

Transport to the Prison

If you want to plan your journey on public transport visit the travel  web site  (click here). It is an excellent way to plan your visits.

The nearest railway station is Rugby. There are frequent services from London, Birmingham and the North. However, transport will need to be arranged between the Rugby Railway Station and HMP Rye Hill.

Additionally there is a bus service leaving HMP Rye Hill at 8.45 pm operated by Ellis Coaches, which provides a direct link to Rugby Railway Station.

HMP Rye Hill is situated on the A45 between Coventry and Daventry.

If arriving by car from the North using M6 Leave motorway at junction 1. Join A426 toward Rugby. Follow road through Rugby to Dunchurch. At traffic lights in Dunchurch turn left onto the A45 towards Daventry, down slip road (HMP Rye Hill is signposted). Carry on straight over roundabout and HMP Rye Hill is approximately 1 mile on the left-hand side.

From the North using M1 Leave motorway at junction 20. Join A426 toward Rugby. Follow instructions as above.

From South using M1 leave motorway at junction 17 (M1/M45). Follow M45 to roundabout. Go around roundabout and back onto M45. Come off at first exit, Follow A45 signpost Daventry. HMP Rye Hill is signposted approximately 1 mile on the left-hand side.

Approaching from North using A45, follow A45 past Coventry to Dunchurch. At traffic lights in Dunchurch go straight ahead. HMP Rye Hill is situated approximately 1.5 miles from Dunchurch on the left-hand side.
Approaching from South via Daventry, follow A45 past Daventry towards Dunchurch for approximately 9 miles. HMP Rye Hill is situated on the right-hand side.

Return to Rye Hill

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