If you’re looking for somewhere that combines woodland walks, open space, history, wildlife and plenty to keep children entertained, Wandlebury Country Park near Cambridge is well worth adding to your list.
Situated just south of Cambridge on the Gog Magog Hills, Wandlebury Country Park offers a brilliant mix of countryside, heritage and family-friendly facilities, only a short drive from the city.
Once you arrive, there’s plenty to keep the whole family entertained…
1. There’s a huge games field for letting off steam
One of the first things that stands out is the large open games field, perfect for children who simply want to run, kick a football, throw a frisbee or enjoy some space outdoors. This open space gives families the flexibility to create their own fun, and it’s ideal for picnics, too.
2. Beautiful woodland walks
Wandlebury’s woodland paths create shady routes in warmer weather and there’s plenty of variety to keep walks interesting.
There are around eight miles of waymarked trails to explore at Wandlebury Country Park, meaning you can explore somewhere different every time you visit.
3. You can spot grazing cattle and sheep
Part of the charm of Wandlebury Country Park is how natural it feels. During parts of the year, cattle and sheep graze within sections of the park as part of the management of the habitat. The cattle were grazing when we visited recently, and our son enjoyed spotting them from a distance.
4. The den building area encourages imaginative play
If your children love collecting sticks and creating their own little worlds, the den building area is likely to become a highlight. It was definitely our son’s favourite part of the day: he enjoyed both creating his own den and adding to those that had already been built.
It’s a timeless activity for kids and adults to get stuck into together, and there are plenty of trees and branches in this dedicated area for multiple families to enjoy building dens at the same time.
5. Pop-up cafés appear at weekends
While there isn’t a permanent café onsite at Wandlebury Country Park, pop-up vendors arrive Thursday to Sunday. When we visited, there was a lovely coffee and cake van parked up by the Tadlow Granary, which made a very welcome stop after exploring.
If you want something more substantial while you’re there, though, it’s still worth bringing drinks plus snacks or a picnic.
6. There’s a Dinky Door hidden in the park
Keep your eyes peeled for one of the area’s famous Dinky Doors. Finding the little door is fun enough, but the best bit is that you can actually open it and peek inside. You’ll find plenty more of them in and around Cambridge – details here!
7. The bird hide makes wildlife watching easy
Wandlebury’s bird hide offers a peaceful place to stop and see what’s around.
One of our favourite details was the chalkboard just outside, covered in recent species sightings written by visitors, adding an extra layer of excitement to seeing what you might spot for yourself.
8. Walk through history in the Iron Age hill fort
Wandlebury has an impressive history. The park features an ancient Iron Age hill fort – the Wandlebury Ring – and a 1-mile footpath runs the length of the outer ditch. Walking through it gives a real sense of the scale of the earthworks and adds something completely different to an ordinary country park walk.
9. There are views all the way to Ely
Follow the signs to the Ely Viewpoint and you’ll be rewarded with expansive views across the landscape.
On a clear day, you can even spot Ely Cathedral on the horizon.
10. Visit the grave of the Godolphin Arabian racehorse
One of Wandlebury’s more unexpected features is the grave of the Godolphin Arabian.
Known as one of the founding stallions of modern thoroughbred horse racing, his grave within the old stable block is an unusual piece of history that adds to Wandlebury’s charm.
11. See what you can spot in the wildlife ponds
Stop to look in Wandlebury’s wildlife ponds – what can you see? We found one pond on the walk up from the car park, where you can apparently spot water scorpions, grass snakes and newts. There’s another pond on the grassy area near the toilets which was home to ducklings when we visited.
12. There’s even a pet cemetery
One of the more unusual corners of the park is the pet cemetery. The pets buried here belonged to the wealthy family who owned Wandlebury when it was a private manor house – another nod to the site’s history and something else for curious children to enjoy.
13. The beech avenue is seriously impressive
Before you leave, make time to walk along the magnificent beech avenue.
Stretching for around 400 metres and lined with mature trees, it creates a beautiful natural corridor – I can imagine it looks even more impressive in autumn!
Plenty to keep the whole family entertained
Wandlebury Country Park manages to combine so many different types of day out in one place: woodland adventures, wildlife spotting, fascinating history and plenty of space to relax or burn off some energy.
With accessible toilets, lots of parking, coffee vans, picnic tables and benches throughout, plus BBQ areas available to hire, it’s somewhere you can either spend an hour or two or enjoy for the whole day.
Have you visited before?