Being in The Midlands, Nottingham is a great location for accessing so many brilliant places to visit with kids. It is also just an hour from South Yorkshire, the Peak District and 2 hours from the coast. So let’s dive in and explore our favourite places for family days out near Nottingham.
Exploring Rufford Country Park
Rufford Abbey Country Park is located to the North east of the City Centre and offers a wonderful day out for families near Nottingham. Entry is free, with parking £6 for the whole day. The ruins of Rufford Abbey are beautiful and can be explored if you want to cough up some money, but enjoy the gardens, woodland walks, sculpture trail and amazing children’s park for free. The park boasts slides, a double zip wire, various climbing frames and a sand pit. It is also next to the adventure golf course (£5 per person, £15 for 4 people) and during the weekends there is a coffee shed to pick up that important drink whilst the kids play. Else where in the ground you can pay extra to do archery (school hols and weekends only) and hire a boat on the boating lake. We spent a few hours just enjoying the (pram friendly) woodland paths, the grounds and enjoying the views over the lake. Within the courtyard there is a cafe (average priced), a shop and toilets. If you’re staying at nearby Sherwood Pines Center Parcs, this would be a great trip out from there.
Belton House, National Trust
You don’t have to be a member to enjoy a day out at Belton House, although entry is free for National Trust members and a family ticket otherwise is a hefty £46. It is however one of the best National Trust places we have ever been to and for Bridgeton fans it is where much of the series is filmed! Located near Grantham, the house and gardens here are enormous with plenty of space for picnics, running races, and chance to find a corner for yourself. There is even a maze, and the orangery has a fish pond and some very cool plants which will interest the kids. After exploring the topiary gardens head to the main stables courtyard to enjoy the cafe, garden centre or more importantly the second-hand book shop and the indoor play area (if the heavens open on you!). The best thing about Belton House for families however is the play area. It is enormous and has plenty to keep all ages entertained, from wobbly bridges, to a huge slide, water play and the usual swings and seesaws. There is also a small train that runs around the park, £1.50 per person, and takes 7 minutes. It’s very cute and any train-enthused child will have you on it. Beyond the train track is another park area with a huge obstacle course and there is a café for coffees and ice creams! We even spotted some deer on our walk back to the car park. Set aside a whole day for a visit to Belton House, it’s one of the best days out near Nottingham.
National Space Centre
Located on the outskirts of Leicester (closer to Nottingham than you might think), The National Science Centre is an epic day out with kids near Nottingham. Admissions fees are £18 for adults, £16 for children and under 3’s go free, but your day ticket converts to an annual pass for no additional fee meaning you can come back again and again. Parking is £4 all day via pay and display so don’t get caught out there. The Centre has the usual family-friendly facilities such as a very reasonably priced café, toilets, pushchair parking and of course an over-priced gift shop! There’s a few activity sheets for children to complete as they go around, and a lot of interactive attractions including a water floor, news recording studio and various space capsules with buttons to press – you can even work as a team to try and launch your own rocket. The centre is split into 5 different areas for learning – the universe, the solar system, our home planet, arriving in space and then the rocket and race to the moon. This kept my two entertained for over 4 hours and they definitely ticked various things off the curriculum for home schooling!! As an adult I enjoyed reading more about space and the wealth of information available as they played with the various exhibits. The highlight of the day though was the Planetarium. There are 3 shows per day, 1 included in your entrance ticket, and it was out of this world – no pun intended! The kids minds were blown, although some motion sickness also experienced by Nyle, and they lapped up the 20-30 minute film, glued to every word about the Solar System. A brilliant family friendly day out for everyone and we will definitely be back.
Holme Pierrpont National Watersports centre
It’s not every day you can watch a National Sports Team train, but for a great family day out near Nottingham visit Holme Pierrpont Country Park. The setting itself with the 2km rowing ‘track’ is inspiring, but it is the white water training ground that really captivates kids. If you’re lucky you’ll see some canoeists practicing down the stretch of white water, doing flips and turns that looks very impressive. There is a great park, of course a cafe for hot drinks and ice creams, and during the weekends and schools hols there is even a land rover track for driving! For the cyclists amongst you there is a mountain bike trail and a family friendly cycle path around the whole area which is a good distance for smaller legs and obviously traffic free. There are various activities that can be booked for an additional fee including an aerial assault course, white water rafting, an inflatable water course and mini golf, but these are largely only available during weekends and school holidays. It’s all free, unless you choose to do an activity, with only parking to pay for.
Sherwood Forest
No trip to Nottingham is complete without a trip to Sherwood Forest, home of Robin Hood. The Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre is around 30 minutes from the city centre and kids will love playing along the woodland trails, hiding as outlaws in the trees and shooting their bow and arrows (a reasonable £8 from the RSPB owned visitor centre). From the visitor centre there are several walking routes to explore, most of which are very pushchair friendly, and of different lengths for different ages. Most take you straight past Major Oak which is quite the sight, and most adults will enjoy re-telling the myth of Robin Hood to their children. We tee-d the trip up with Disney’s version of this classic story – brilliant film! The kids loved running ahead and hiding from us, and along the trails there are several things to keep them entertained and spot. The park at the end is of a decent size and there is more open space for games and picnics if you want to make a bigger day of it. The only cost is parking and anything you pick up in the Visitor Centre, otherwise it’s a free day out near Nottingham.
Nottingham Castle
Following on the Robin Hood theme, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Nottingham Castle with kids, located in the heart of the city. Entrance is £15 for adults, which converts to an annual pass, and children are free. If you have an Art Fund membership entry is free! We’ve been here a few times and each trip the kids speak so fondly of it. It’s also a good one for a wetter, cooler day. The kids can enjoy dressing up as knights, maids, Kings and of course Robin Hood and there are always things on to keep their interest as you explore the castle. The castle grounds themselves are fabulous – I even had my hen do there, playing rounders on the lawn – offering space for picnics and running around and during the holidays there are events on for families such as broomstick flying! In the castle is also an art gallery space and museum which has various exhibitions and there is a ‘massive’ park (according to my kids) with a rope bridge. The castle also offers incredible views of the city.
Rutland Water
OK, so technically Rutland Water is in Rutland, and just over an hour from Nottingham, but we had a wonderful family day out here so including it on our Nottingham list. Rutland water is the UK’s largest reservoir and another free day out for families in the Midlands. There is so much to explore around the lake that a map would be a good start! You can access one here. The main area to park and explore as a family is Skyes Lane which even has a beach with the option to swim (weekends and school holidays only). The large carpark is next to a huge park, mini golf, the beach, cafe and shop so there’s not too walking involved for little legs. Rutland water also offers cycling trails around the lake, with cycle hire available from the Whitwell car park. The trails are largely flat and traffic free making it family friendly. We took our own bikes and parked for free at the end of the Hambleton Peninsula and embarked on a circular route which was around 7 miles with a pub for a pit stop enroute. Even on a misty day we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and bird watching is impressive. There are specific bird watching areas and nature reserves around the lake as well. During the summer there is also an inflatable water park to enjoy costing £20 per person but is for over 6’s and swimmers who can swim 25m unaided.
