Gartree

Role and background

HMP Gartree is a high-security men's prison in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

Inside the prison and daily life

Its accommodation is mainly single cells, with public prison information describing more than 700 residents. New arrivals spend time on an induction unit, where healthcare, support needs and the rules of daily life are introduced.

Workshops include woodwork, gardening, laundry and IT. Prisoners can develop publishing and web-design skills, contribute to a prison newspaper and record material for talking newspapers. Education includes basic skills, arts, construction and distance learning.

Gartree's provision also includes work on behaviour, relationships and reducing violence. That combination makes the prison more than a secure residential site: its regime is intended to support changes that can be assessed over the course of a sentence.

Visiting and family contact

The library adds craft activities, wellbeing sessions and visiting speakers to its books. Peer-led reading support can help men build the confidence needed to move into more formal education. This can make further study more accessible.

For relatives, practical preparation matters. Confirm the correct visiting arrangements, accepted identification, accessibility support and property rules before making a journey. Keeping contact with someone in custody can involve several services, and each has its own procedures.

Practical advice before you make arrangements

Use Gartree's official page below for its current booking route, required identification, permitted items and travel instructions.

Confirm that the person is still at Gartree and that your visit has been accepted before making travel arrangements. Ask the prison in advance about disability access, medication or children's needs.