We’re really making the most of our National Trust memberships recently. Our oldest is 2 and a half and loves exploring halls and gardens. And our youngest? Well, at 7 months he just goes along for the ride!
Back in September, we headed over to West Yorkshire to visit Nostell Priory, quite close to Wakefield. We chose this one because it’s accessible within an hour of home for us and we’d read that is had a great playground. Here’s our review of Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory – Location and Prices
Very close to Wakefield, Nostell Priory is easy enough to find and there’s plenty of parking.
To access the whole property, it is priced as follows:
- Adults – £12.10 with Gift Aid or £11 standard
- Kids aged 5 and over: £6.05 with Gift Aid or £5.50 without
- You can just get tickets for the gardens if you prefer at just over half the price of the normal ticket.
Entry to both the house and gardens is free for National Trust members.
Our Review
TL;DR version:
We love it! Can’t wait to go back.
- Amazing playground area
- Huge gardens for exploring
- Didn’t go in the house this time so can’t comment much on that!
A full review and some photos follow.
That Playground
When we arrived, we made our way up the long path to the house and gardens and made our way into the gardens. We set out deliberately looking for the playground as our tot just loves “playground hunting.” It was just a few seconds from the garden entrance.
And it was HUGE.
It’s a big adventure playground style area with timber play equipment including climbing frames with slides, a huge fort, balance beams, zip line and all sorts of other things spread out over a sizeable area. We spent almost an hour here and it would have been worth the trip out even if there was nothing else to see.
Oliver was a big fan of the balance bridge. And I was very amused to see him insist that Daddy should join him in a teeny tiny little picnic area within a climbing frame for lunch.
Oliver would have stayed there all day and even Ethan had a great time looking around and playing with his big Brother.
The sheer amount of space in the play area at Nostell Priory is amazing. And the play equipment is designed to perfectly fit in the area without taking anything away from its natural beauty. The equipment and surroundings is absolutely brilliant. And being so shaded by the trees, even if there’s a shower or two you don’t really notice it.
There are also plenty of spaces around the area to park up for a picnic if you want to (not just the teeny tiny little space Oliver had his Daddy squeeze into).
So if you’re visiting with young children, pack a lunch and enjoy some time at the playground. If you live close by enough and you’re National Trust members, it’s worth the visit just for that.
The Rest of the Gardens
There’s a beautiful riverside walk, exploring, trees to hide behind and spectacular views of the house from much of the garden space. We spent a couple of hours here hunting for conkers and playing hude and seek in the trees. Oliver had the time of his life.
The Stables
In the courtyard at the Garden entrance is an old stable building which had an little exhibition on when we were there. Oliver enjoyed brushing a wooden horse’s hair and getting hands on with some of the artefacts laid for the kids.
Food and Drink
We bought sandwiches and crisps from the cafe on site and a couple of coffees too. Two adults and a toddler ate for less than £20, which really isn’t bad for an attraction like this I don’t think. There is plenty of choice too.
A Few More Photos…
And here are a few more photos from our day!
Will we be back?
Yep! We can’t wait to head back. We’d already read reviews before we went so were expecting a lovely day, but Nostell Priory exceeded all expectations. One of our favourite National Trust sites so far.
