Nature & gardens · 10:00–13:00 (3h)
Salcey Forest
Story trail, play areas and lunch at the café.
An outdoor nature reserve in Quinton.
- Baby changing
- Café on site
- Toilets
- Accessibility
Photo: Jonathan Billinger

Northampton (south)
Salcey Forest · Photo: Jonathan Billinger
Follow the Room on the Broom trail and try the play areas in Salcey's ancient oak forest. After lunch, watch boats work the locks at Stoke Bruerne, visit the free canal museum and peer into the Blisworth Tunnel.
Nature & gardens · 10:00–13:00 (3h)
Story trail, play areas and lunch at the café.
An outdoor nature reserve in Quinton.
Photo: Jonathan Billinger
Museum · 14:00–15:30 (1h30m)
Free museum, lock-watching and an optional short boat trip.
An indoor and outdoor museum in Stoke Bruerne.
Photo: Murgatroyd49
Skegness
Start at Gibraltar Point's quiet dunes and beach, where parking is the only cost. Then head into Skegness for the lunchtime seal feed at Natureland and an afternoon on the wide Blue Flag beach.
Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve → Natureland Seal Sanctuary → Skegness Beach
Edwinstowe
Walk out to the thousand-year-old Major Oak and build dens near the visitor centre in the morning. After a picnic, drive a few minutes to Sherwood Pines for story trails, play areas and family bike rides through the pines.
Sherwood Forest Country Park → Sherwood Pines
Bakewell
Hire bikes or a trailer at Hassop Station and ride the traffic-free Monsal Trail through lit tunnels towards the viaduct. After lunch, drive to Chatsworth for the farmyard and woodland adventure playground.
Monsal Trail → Chatsworth