Family-friendly things to do at Nostell

Children in bright clothing running on the path in front of the Rose Garden and fountain at Nostell — Space to run free and explore the gardens and orchard | © Annapurna Mellor

Nostell is the perfect place for a family adventure. Spend some time zipping though the trees in the woodland play area, visit the wildlife on the lake, cycle through the woodland or build a den. Whatever you do when you visit, here's what to expect from your family day out.

Planning your family visit

The main car park is around 800 metres from the main entrance
There are baby-changing facilities and toilets in the courtyard
There are accessible paths and you'll find mostly even terrain in the gardens but, some of the parkland paths can be uneven and muddy in wet weather so pushchairs might struggle
Bikes and scooters are welcome in the parkland but we ask that you leave all bikes, trikes, balls and scooters at the garden entrance
If you have a dog, you might find this information useful.

Playground adventures and nature exploring

Jump, swing and slide in the woodland adventure play area. Feel the wind in your hair as you zoom between the trees on the zip wire - it's a whopping 30 metres long
Go nature exploring and spot the resident wildlife, including swans, herons and geese
Take an easy stoll down to the middle lake, following accessible route markers for mobility scooters, wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Explore the parkland on two wheels

Bring your bikes and enjoy a traffic-free adventure on one of our family-friendly woodland cycle trails. Head out into the parkland along the Carriageway path and up to Obelisk Lodge. You can turn left for the green trail, which is great for little legs, or right to whizz around a few more twists and turns on the blue trail. Both sections are for bikes only and are approximately 1km long. Find out more.

A child holding scissors doing a crafts stood beside a volunteer activity assistant — There's always time for little artists to get busy | © Trevor Ray Hart

Summer of Play

20 July - 1 September, 11am - 4pm

There’s games galore to enjoy at Nostell this summer as part of our Summer of Play, sponsored by Starling Bank. Discover moments to challenge the family as you stumble across giant snakes and ladders, boules, and quoits as you stroll around the gardens.

Spill out onto the grass in front of the house to join in the fun with the Featherstone Rovers Foundation every Monday and Thursday. There will be free play sessions for everyone to get involved in from athletics and cheerleading to tug of war and wigwam building. Watch out for appearances from some of the Featherstone Rovers players and their mascot, Percy the Pit Pony.

Playful moments continue as you explore the house, stay a while on a Wednesday to have a go at the Chinese art of paper folding.

Discover the woodland adventure play area

Unleash your wild ones in the woodland adventure play area. Smaller children can climb and hide out in the wendy house on stilts and make their escape down the slide, get dizzy in the wonky spinners, balance on the wobble boards and swing the day away in the bucket swing. Older adventurers can test their adventurous spirit to climb the tower and abseil back down, charge around the rope bridges and wobble paths, bounce to new heights on the cantilever swing and zip through the trees on the 30-metre zip wire.

children playing in the woodland play area at Nostell — Bouncing and wobbling in the woodland play area | © Annapurna Mellor

Planning for a rainy day?

Avoid a passing shower with a swift retreat into the second-hand book shop or cosy up with a hot drink or sweet treat in the cafe.

The playground is under the woodland canopy which offers some shelter but, of couse, you can just bring your wellies and enjoy a good old splash in the puddles and stomp in the mud.