Bowland Country Park
Wild boar, deer and llamas in a Forest of Bowland valley, with animal feeding, an adventure play area, go-karts and river walks. Small, unslick and all the better for it.
Brungerley Park & Sculpture Trail
- Cost
- Free entry
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Where
- Clitheroe & Ribble Valley, Lancashire
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Just turn up
Lancashire's first sculpture trail has been growing here since 1993, threading through Brungerley Park and Cross Hill Quarry nature reserve on the banks of the Ribble. There are more than 20 permanent artworks to find, from a stainless steel sika deer to a tawny owl seat you can actually sit on, which is exactly the sort of bait that gets a reluctant walker round a whole park.
The trail takes about an hour at child pace and the lot is free. Get in from Waddington Road or West Bradford Road; parking is roadside, or leave the car in town and walk up past the cemetery. The park paths are well made, though the quarry stretch is rougher going. Herons and kingfishers work the river, the Wildlife Trust manages the quarry for wildlife, and on a clear day you get the Forest of Bowland thrown in.
Know before you go
- Grab the trail leaflet from the Ribble Valley council website first, then let the kids tick sculptures off as they find them.
- No cafe or toilets in the park itself, so sort both in Clitheroe before you set off.
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What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.4 across 121 Google reviews.
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Clitheroe Castle
One of England's smallest Norman keeps on a rock above the town, with a labyrinth, sculpture trail and a museum that tells the Ribble Valley's story briskly. The grounds and the views cost nothing.
Edisford Bridge
The Ribble runs shallow over shingle on the town side of the bridge, which is why half of Clitheroe turns up on a warm Sunday. Picnic space, a miniature railway at weekends, free to use.
Leaping Lizards Play Centre
Clitheroe's soft play: a two-storey frame, a sports pitch and a 0 to 3 zone, in two hour booked sessions for £7 a child. Friday after school is £2.50.
Mrs Dowsons Farm Park
A working dairy farm on the Blackburn edge of the Ribble Valley that makes ice cream from its own herd and opens to visitors at weekends and in the holidays. Talks, animal feeds, a milking parlour and an indoor natural play barn.
Gisburn Forest
Forestry England's big forest in the Forest of Bowland, with a Room on the Broom trail for 3 to 9s, a play area, four walking and four cycling trails and the Hungry Pine cafe. Entry is free. Parking is not cheap.
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