Day 14 of our #80dayschallenge to take at least 80 days out in one year took us to Normanby Hall Country Park in Lincolnshire. Normanby Hall is in the north of the county and not too far from the Humber estuary. It’s somewhere we’ve never been before but have been meaning to visit for a few years now.
They have had recent investments with new playgrounds and a Go Ape! on-site. We visited on a day in March when not everything was yet open. We did manage a few hours here, however, we could have certainly spent a full day out had everything been open. Always a good excuse to return as entry costs aren’t especially high.
Normanby Hall – Things to do Review
When we arrived we were a little confused as to what was going on. My Mum had arrived before us and had parked in the car park without paying. However, when we arrived a little after her we were stopped at the gate and asked to pay if we were visiting the hall, which we were.
It was unclear if there would have been anywhere else for my Mum to pay had she not walked over to us and paid when we arrived. My understanding was that we could have visited the grounds that day for free and just paid £3.00 to park. We were only paying entry for the hall on that day. If that changes later in the year please do let me know. It’s not like us to be so confused!
The Playgrounds
There are two new playgrounds at Normanby Hall. The larger one is near the car park and was busy all day so I didn’t get a very good photo of it I’m afraid. The sand play area was also roped off and the zip wire wasn’t working which was a shame as I believe this playground only opened last year. There was equipment for toddlers up to teenagers. Hopefully they will fix these problems before the summer.
There is also a baby to toddler playground that was also installed last year. This is over by the splash pad and was certainly a lot quieter than the larger playground.
Splash Pad
There is a splash pad at Normanby Hall Country park. It is open over the summer months. It’s not massive but I can imagine it’s a
Normanby Hall
They have made a huge effort to make children welcome at Normanby Hall. You can pick up an explorer backpack for your kids when you enter which gives them plenty of activities and tasks to carry out on their way a
Normanby Hall was built back in 1825. There are some very elegant rooms to wander around and upstairs they have rooms, especially for children. We loved the room with the dress up. In there they also had a bed kids can make up, a large dolls house they can play with, old objects they can identify and more. It is a lovely room and one we spent some time in. There are tours of the house over the summer months.
The Stables, Coach House and Cafe
Over at the stables and coach
In this area you will also find their cafe. Be warned that they don’t have many tables inside. They have plenty outside but people can also have their picnics on these benches. We chose to eat early so that we wouldn’t struggle to find a table. The food ranges from sandwiches to jacket potatoes. They have sandwich boxes for children.
Victorian Walled Garden
We found this a little disappointing as other places local to us make sure that their walled garden look good pretty much all year round. This was very sparse and not interesting to look at. We did, however, find a few exhibition rooms at the back which were interesting to wander around.
The Farming Museum
This doesn’t open until early April so it was shut when we visited in March. The museum brings rural Lincolnshire to life with displays such as the tenant farmer’s kitchen and backyard. Plus the saddler’s and blacksmiths workshops. Old farm machinery and transport tell the story of how the land was worked back in the 1850s up to the 1950’s. There is an under fives play area in the museum.
Go Ape!
Go Ape! Is not included in your admission ticket to Normanby
Normanby Hall Country Park – The grounds
There
Other Summer only activities
Also during the summer months there is a miniature railway. This looked like a fun and quite long track over by the larger playground. There was a sign that says it’s just 20p per person for a ride on their train.
There is also mention of a petting farm which will be in the grounds over the summer holidays. You will be able to visit the animals and take part in daily handling sessions. During the warmer months they also have a land train which takes you around part of the grounds at Normanby. It’s a vintage train and is the nicest I’ve ever seen. A ride on the land train costs £1 per person and under 5’s ae free.
Normanby Hall has plenty of events on throughout the year such as party in the park music festival, outdoor cinema, Christmas market and more.
Important Information
As mentioned above you will only need to pay for parking (£3) over the winter months. I am unsure what is ‘free’ to visit in the summer months (aside from the parking charge). An adult ticket to the park, grounds, hall and farming museum during the summer months costs £7.00 and £4.00 for a child aged 5 to 16 years. Under 5’s are free. We visited in March and we paid these prices however the only place we had to show our entry ticket was to visit the hall.
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