Visiting time: a tale of two prisons

Prison visitation remains an under-researched and under-theorised aspect of prison life. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, this article takes an in-depth look at the lived experience of the prison visit from the perspectives of prisoners and their visitors. First, this paper describes the inherently problematic nature of current visits practice reflecting on the restrictions placed on prisoners and families and the longer term implications for their lives post-release. Whilst acknowledging these fundamental flaws, the paper then, describes what can make some visiting experiences more ‘survivable’ than others by comparing visiting experiences at two ostensibly similar prisons.