We love to get out and about as a family so when the weather is good we often find ourselves packing up a picnic, a bag with outdoors games and heading to one of our favourite local parks. Nottingham has so many different parks to offer so we thought we would tell you about our favourite ten today so that you can enjoy them too… Best of all none of them are going to break the bank.
Rushcliffe Country Park
Rushcliffe Country Park is probably the kids favourite park to visit as the play equipment is just super and there is so much space to play football or frisbee even when it’s really busy. There are so many different things to discover at Rushcliffe which is why we keep going back over and over again. My kids just love the sensory trail and the tree identification trail. Entry to the park is free and parking is just £1.00
Highfields Park
Highfields Parks is the perfect place to go on a sunny day. There is a boating lake, adventure golf, a lovely walk around the lake and a great playground. You can also visit Lakeside Arts while you are there and browse their gallery, or see a show or just pop into the pavilion cafe. We have seen a few shows at Lakeside Arts now and really enjoy them. Entry to the park is free and there is limited free parking available.
Attenborough Nature Reserve
We love Attenborough Nature Reserve and wrote about our walks on the Kingfisher trail and Skylark Trail a while back. It’s a great place to go to spot some wildlife but be prepared to walk or cycle to really get the best out of it. The nature centre runs lots of different activities for kids so make sure you check the website ahead of your visit. Parking £3 donation
Wollaton Hall, Gardens and Deer Park
Wollaton is the place to go to see deer, apparently 90 red and 120 fallow deer roam freely in the park and have done since the fourteenth century. We have been lucky enough to see the deer everytime we have been to Wollaton and they are such beautiful, majestic creatures. There is so much space to run around and let off steam at Wollaton. Make sure you make a visit when it snows as it is very popular for sledging. It’s free to visit the park and the Natural History Museum in the Hall. Parking costs £3.00 up to three hours or £5.00 all day.
Newstead Abbey
We visited Newstead Abbey for the first time a few weeks ago and fell in love with the grounds. It is such a beautiful place and we will be making sure we visit very soon to have a look round the house too. Parking costs £6.00 per car and that covers all the grounds. Entry into the house is extra.
Colwick Country Park
Colwick Country Park is a very pretty park which is set around two lakes on the edge of the River Trent. The most exciting thing about the park is the adventure centre where you can book for different activities like kayaking, windsurfing, wailing, canoeing, raft building, high ropes climbing, power boating, mountain biking, camp crafts & shelter building, pond dipping & bug hunts and many more. Barrier charge of £2.00 per vehicle.
West Park
West Park is a few miles out of the city in Long Eaton, it’s a fantastic place to go on a hot sunny day as it has a splash pad which is open 1 May to 30 September from 10am to 7pm and that really does draw in the crowds. The park has two play areas; one for younger children and one for older, an outdoor gym, football, cricket, rugby and baseball pitches, tennis courts, bowling greens, croquet lawn, multi use games area. There is also West Perk Cafe which sells the most delicious ice cream and does a really good selection of food and drink. Free parking is available.
Sherwood Pines Forest Park
If you fancy heading into the forest the Sherwood Pines is the place to go. There is always so much going off at Sherwood Pines and so much to do for kids and grown ups. We enjoyed going on the segways here a few year ago at Go Ape. It was such a great experience. There are three play areas for kids, our kids especially love Robins Hood Hideout. There are both walking and cycle trails and why not get up to some bushcraft activities while you’re there. Cars £2 for the 1st hour, £4 up to 2 hours or £6 all day pass.
Clumber Park
Clumber Park is a beautiful expanse of parkland, heath and woods covering more than 3,800 acres owned by The National Trust. You can hire a bike at Clumber Park and explore over 20 miles of beautiful trails. If you are a book lover make sure you head to the bookshop cafe to treat yourself to one of the many second hand books. Standard admission is £4.00 per adult and £2.00 per child or £10.00 per family.
Shipley Country Park
Last but certainly not least is Shipley Country Park. Shipley Country Park has 700 acres and has 20 miles of quiet paths and bridleways. There is a wildlife garden, natural play area, toddlers play area and an adventure play area. Car parking charges 2 hours – £1.60, 4 hours – £3 or all day – £4.80
If you have a favourite park in Nottinghamshire then make sure you leave us a comment as we would love to visit too 🙂
