Stanwick Lakes - Bring Wellies. Get Stuck In!.


Stanwick Lakes, Nene Valley, Northamptonshire

Value for money: 😁 😁 😁 😁 😁
Parking: 😁 😁 😁 😁
Food: 😁 😁 😁 😁
Interest for kids: 😁 😁 😁 😁 😁
Interest for adults: 😁 😁 😁 😁 😁
Overall: 😁 😁 😁 😁 😁 

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing."



I am a big fan of the growth in popularity of outdoor (muddy) play and I should start by saying that muddy activity days-out are amongst my favourite things to do so if you're after a fair weather activity review this may not be for you...

Otherwise, here goes...

For our first visit, and after only seeing a fraction of what's there (on a very damp day) I can only say that Stanwick Lakes seems to be amazing! 
Don your wellies, get the waterproofs on and jump feet first into the nearest muddy puddle.
Admittedly our visit coincides with national rains and floods but the site still held up well and I think some of the parts were enhanced.

Play Area
Whilst the wet play area was a little wetter than we were able to use the rest of the play area was brilliant. We only spent a few minutes there as it was a bit blustery/cold on arrival, but there was easily an hours worth of natural walkways, frames, slides and swings.

Visitor Centre
The standard shop, info desk etc. There was an art gallery in the discovery room so couldn't really use, but it looked like there were a number of interesting activities in there normally.

Cafe
Had a coffee on arrival and lunch after a walk. Good selection, all the favourites including a very good value lunch box for kids (£3.50).

Sculpture Trail

This 1-mile trail was our main activity whilst we were there. Dotted with interesting sculptures (and an ancient burial mound), it was a good 30 minute walk around one of the smaller lakes. It would have been easily pushchair accessible had we brought ours, but was flat enough for the 2 and 4 year olds to make it round.

Assault Course

This is was a fantastic little discovery just off the Sculpture Trail. A course of tunnels, tyres, ropes and mud mud mud that the girls (and adults) absolutely loved... And will be a definite aim for future visits.

Overall
A great place to visit and only costing £3.60 to park for the day an amazing value day out. There's more than a day's entertainment and we certainly will be returning to check out all the other trails. Sheltered picnic seating in wet weather is the only way that I could see Stanwick Lakes being improved.

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