Recommended by Jessica Granger with children ages 6 and 9 on Mon Aug 03 2020

Beautiful gardens with lots of space for picnics and play. The grounds are kept to such a high standard yet it all feels so relaxed and accommodating. Staff were all wearing PPE where appropriate and the set up for toilets and food was really well managed. There are some really thoughtful touches like fairy doors to find amongst the trees and a surprising amount of wildlife as well as the kept animals. Considering it’s summer holidays and a sunny day they’d managed the numbers so it was obviously popular but not busy; social distancing was never an issue and the queue and wait for food was quick. My only suggestion would be signage round the gardens; for someone who’d never been it wasn’t obvious where to go. That said we enjoyed exploring and will be back again soon.

Recommended by Sophie with children ages 5 and 0 on Thu Jul 16 2020

The play park is open which my 5yr old loved, hand gel available at entrance. The tea room is not yet open but is opening next week! It's a lovely walk with a one way system in place and plenty of spots to have a picnic. They have a menagerie which both kids really enjoyed. We then walked round the arboretum bit where the 5 year old enjoyed spotting the little fairy doors. We had a picnic under a tree but as we walked over the bridge across the water there was a nice picnic bench next to the water which was really nice to watch the ducks and fish. Tip, there are only toilets at the entrance so make sure the kids go then as it can be quite a walk back!

Recommended by Suzanne with children age 5 on Sat Jul 11 2020

Beautiful gardens to wander around, plenty of areas to enjoy a picnic. Kids also loved the menagerie which included pigs, goat, giant tortoises, rabbits plus a meerkat manor! There is also a nice restaurant which is next to a nice play area ( so you might get away with a having a sit down whilst the kids play!). There is no entrance fee for the restaurant/play area, just to go into the gardens.

Recommended by Becky Pink on Tue Nov 21 2017

With a mini zoo/farm with meerkats and a fantastic wooden playground and lovely coffee shop this is the perfect place to spend a few hours or a day. The gardens are stunning whatever season and it’s so reasonably priced. We have been loads and just did the best pumpkin trail over half term. Love it!

Recommended by Clare on Thu May 04 2017

Castle Ashby gardens are brilliant for kids. The formal gardens are great for picnics and for running around. The wild gardens are brilliant for tree-climbing, bug spotting and generally enjoying open space. There is a small animal area with meerkats (you can also feed them at set times for an extra fee), pigs, goats, large rabbits etc. There are various greenhouses and indoor areas with ponds and lots of interesting plants etc to keep everyone entertained. The tea rooms do a good selection of food and drink, plus ice creams and cakes. If you take a picnic you have to have it in the gardens and pay the entrance fee, but the tea rooms are free to visit and also have a good play area that suits all ages. Lots of parking, toilets onsite at the tea rooms, but bear in mind that if you're in the gardens you can easily be a 10+ minute walk from the toilets.