Recommended by THE WIKI MAMA with children ages 3 and 6 on Wed Dec 01 2021

LOTHERTON🤶🏻 The girls and I took a little trip up North last weekend to the opening of the amazing @lotherton Christmas Experience! It was Magical - and it even snowed!!! ☃️ 🎅🏻 Not only did we meet FC, we also… 🤶🏻Decorated gingerbread men with Mrs Claus 🎄Took a walk through the beautifully decorated rooms inside the Lotherton Hall ✨Explored the stunning illuminated trail 🧚‍♀️Found a hidden Fairy lair!! 🛍 Shopped the Christmas markets 🎨 Painted a choice of pottery plates and candle holders 🧝Met the elves making reindeer food 💌 Wrote letters in Santa’s Post Room! The music was loud and ethereal and created so much theatre it was really exciting, despite the cold!! And the elves were THE BEST entertainment!! The whole experience is packed with activities from start to finish. We left with painted pottery, a gingerbread man, reindeer food a photo with FC AND a present from the man himself!!! What more could you ask for? Even the cafe was packed with yummy things that were not overpriced in the slightest. I’m so glad we’ve ticked the Lotherton Christmas Experience off our list finally… it’s definitely one we will remember. We loved it!

Recommended by Natasha with children ages 10 and 3 and 4 on Sun Nov 28 2021

We have been to the Christmas experience amd I can honestly say it’s the most magical place we have visited. The elves was so good and the kids absolutely loved it would highly recommend

Recommended by Hannah with children ages 9 and 3 on Wed Apr 14 2021

Firstly really good value all under 4s are free which is a real help. Cafe really nice and again not too pricey £12 for scone kids sandwich crisps x2 , adult sandwich and pasty with hot drinks x2. A wide variety of playgrounds which suited both our 9 and 3 yr old daughter. Easy with the buggy walking around and the animal part was interesting and captivated us all. We spent just over two and a half hours here and it was well worth the trip. They also seem very organised with covid secure measures. Highly recommend.

Recommended by Emma with children ages 7 and 7 and 5 and 2 on Sat Jul 11 2020

Needed to get the kids out of the house and just risked there would be on the day availability. We arrived no queue and there was plenty of space for us! Cost around £17 they guy in the booth let me off with one of the kids which was very nice! The bird garden was a one way system which was very organised, arrows on the floor to follow and frequent hand sanitizer stations. There was plenty of staff about and different points to make sure social distancing was being followed. The kids loved it especially seeing the penguins. We found a spot to have our lunch then an ice cream for the kids! I paid contactless to get in and at the ice cream van. Lots to do with the kids and it’s a really nice walk.

Recommended by Sharon with children age 1 on Tue Jul 07 2020

We had a lovely visit here yesterday, throughout the bird garden there is hand sanitizer stations and a one way system, hand washing facilities are available upon entering the gift shop. Toilets are open and also the cafe for takeouts. Great walking routes that are pram friendly and ample room to adhere to social distancing regulations. All in all they are doing great :)

Recommended by Natasha Aston with children ages 7 and 2 and 1 on Sun Dec 08 2019

Yesterday we visited the Lotherton Christmas experience, I can’t rate this enough if I had 10 stars to give it would get them all. We started by going through the North Pole, the elves there was very interactive with the children. We then all got to make our own Santa stop here sign in the elf work shop before going to meet Santa and getting a gift each. We then walked around the 12 days of Christmas lights in the woods followed but the fairy dell, Lilly being the oldest was mesmerised but the little fair village and we could hear them whispering and chatting away. After we went to the elf village where we were able to make baubles, crackers and decorate plates with help from the very friendly elves. We then went skating on real ice l. The whole day was truly magical and we came away really looking forward to Christmas. Perfect Christmas experience. Can’t wait to return

Recommended by Victoria with children ages 6 and 3 on Thu Dec 05 2019

We went to the Christmas Experience at Lotherton Hall (Christmas 2019). As regular visitors to Lotherton we are familiar with the house and great play areas for the children, plus the animal world. The Christmas Experience made our visit such a special treat. We started in the elf visit by decorating a plate to put Santa’s milk and mince pie on. Both my boys loved designing their own plate. These little craft activities are brilliant. Be aware that there is an additional charge for these. You need to collect tokens from the elf village shop, I’d recommend taking cash. I think each activity was about £3. There’s a teepee at the centre of the village to sit and relax with a hit chocolate, plus a cafe in the main courtyard. The Santa experience itself was magical. Walking through the snow capped trees, meeting the elves, writing our lists and of course meeting the main man!! It’s well worth the trip. We’ll definitely be back next year. My top tip would be to take cash and try and book early December to avoid the crowds. Enjoy!

Recommended by Emma with children ages 2 and 4 on Wed Nov 27 2019

The Christmas Experience at Lotherton. There is so much to explore at the Christmas Experience, the beautifully decorated hall, the Elf Village and ice rink, The Twelve Days Walk, meet Santa, The Fairy Dell not to mention the standard attractions of Wildlife World and play areas! The house is full of Edwardian Christmas finery with beautiful decorations and gorgeous trees. It is as if the family are in the middle of their Christmas celebrations, mince pies and Christmas cake, musical instruments ready for a performance, new toys and games and some presents left to open! Makes you feel like you have stumbled upon their Christmas Day! In the activity area of the house there are traditional costumes to dress up in for some Christmas role play and festive books to read, a nice little area for children. Rucksacks and pushchairs can’t be taken in the hall but there are lockers if you need them-don’t forget a £1 coin! There are plenty more Christmas activities outside too! The 12 days Woodland Walk features all the days from the song with characters, sounds, lights and interactive displays along the way, I was really not good at knocking over the goose eggs (6 geese are laying!)! I imagine it looks even more special in the late afternoon or early evening when it is just a little bit darker. We went from day 12 down to 1 which was a good job as I could only remember the song in reverse order! Each day had a different display which was lovely, we enjoyed looking out for the next number and seeing what and where it was going to be. Oh and splashing in puddles along the way! The trail goes right around the outskirts of the grounds through the woodland, the path is well made and suitable for pushchairs, it might be too far for newly walking legs. The Fairy Dell is situated in the rock garden, with loads of different little fairy houses scattered amongst the garden, including a helter shelter, cinema and even a snow scene. If you listen carefully you can hear the fairies too! Just behind the main courtyard there is the Elf Village which leads onto the Ice Rink. The Elf Village is looked after by some very helpful and friendly elves, despite being out in the wet they were extremely kind and cheery! The elf village contains little wooden huts Scattered around a nice central seated area which is under a great teepee tent where there is story telling. There is also a drink and snack stall which smells amazing, just what you need on a cold evening! The little cabins contain crafts that you buy tokens for to complete (£3 each) they include cracker making, bauble making and plate/mug painting. They are all lovely ideas as you get to take a nice homemade momento home with you. There is also a hut in the Elf village for the man in red for a “drop in” visit, rather than the full Santa visit in the main courtyard area. This is such a great idea for preschool age children who maybe don’t have the patience for a full 40min Santa visit but would still like the chance to meet Santa. Continue through the elf village to the ice rink, it is huge!! It is very smart inside the area where you collect and put on your skates. The minimum age is 3 for the skating, there are also penguins that can be hired for little ones to push round who are maybe not as confident on the ice. It looks beautiful under the lights and a lovely Christmas treat (additional charge). The main Santa experience is the North Pole experience which is through the courtyard area and need to be pre booked. This includes helping the Elves in their craft workshop, sending a postcard to Santa and meeting the man himself. The visit is approx 40mins in small groups but you get to meet Santa individually. The courtyard also contains toilets, visitor shop and the cafe. They have added an extra covered area to the courtyard for visitors to the cafe to be able to sit under cover and in the warmth which is a great idea, especially if visiting with little ones. The cafe is fairly reasonable and offers everything you could want, children’s meals, sandwiches, soup, hot food and homemade cakes. All the facilities are accessible as are the rest of the grounds and house. In addition to all the Christmas activities there are the standard features of Lotherton which include the huge play area, gardens to explore and the amazing Wildlife World with our favourites -the very friendly and playful penguins! There are so many different parts of The Christmas Experience to explore which is excellent, it is all very well signposted with maps showing where everything is. We went on a very wet day and it really didn’t hamper our day, in the Elf Village there is an undercover central area and mats down to prevent it getting too boggy. The 12 Days Woodland Trail is sheltered through the trees , but wellies would be a good idea and a splashsuit if your little ones fall over as much as mine! A really great Christmas Experience with so much to explore and do!

Recommended by Jenny Cooper with children age 3 on Tue Nov 05 2019

I don't think we have visited here since before Freddie was born so it was nice to visit for the first time as a family. Their spooktacular event was a Halloween treasure trail set up within their grounds and the main house with lots of spooky displays set up through out. Lotherton Hall also has a bit of a wildlife park within its grounds. This mainly houses lots of different birds but also has some capibaras and tapirs. Freddie also had an amazing time playing with the penguins 🐧 you can see lots of investment has been made in this area, its fab with bird walk through too. there is also a large play ground with a few zip wires for the kids (and adults!) to play on. Entry price gets you both into the house and all of the grounds. It was a miserable day when we visited 🌧☔ so we treated ourselves to some goodies from the cafe - all of the cakes and scones looked homemade, they have plenty of hot and cold options too. Lotherton Hall also sell home made apple juice from their own orchard. Lotherton Hall regularly hold different events for children including craft sessions every weekend. Their next "big" event is the Christmas Experience which starts on the 22nd November 🎄 Disabled access and changing spaces toilets available and disabled access to all outdoor areas, cafe and main house

Recommended by Emma with children ages 2 and 4 on Mon Oct 28 2019

Lotherton Scarecrow Trail. Our first visit to Lotherton and it was for the Spooky Scarecrow Trail, it is obviously very popular as we queued in the car to get in at opening time. However the queue quickly moved and we were soon exploring the estate! After lots of rain and visitors there are some muddy areas so don’t forget your wellies! The scarecrow trail is all over the grounds, we weren’t quite sure where it started or ended but we had great fun spotting all the “scarecrows” around the grounds! They are literally everywhere you turn, from giant spiders, to witches and werewolves! Some are silhouettes, some are mannequins, my 2 and 4 year old were ok with most of the figures as a couple could look a little scarey. The “characters” are even in the house; there are some lovely spooky displays in the house and keep your eyes peeled for the hidden letters! In the house there are some fancy dress costumes to try out and some spooky books, we had to stop to read a book or two! We had the Scarecrow trail sheet with some questions and the answers to watch out for however we had little success in completing it, but we still enjoyed spotting all the weird and wonderful things! We went to the Stable Yard Cafe for lunch which was extremely busy as you would expect for such a busy popular day. There was a little wait, suggest an early lunch if you are using the cafe! The food on offer includes children’s lunch boxes, various sandwiches, jackets, pasties, cakes etc and the food was very nice. There are also plenty of picnic tables and benches scattered around Lotherton for picnics too, it was just a bit chilly this time! The toilets are also in the am stable yard area. Behind the cafe there is a room offering Halloween craft activities, these are really lovely and different ideas ie haunted house, a mobile and mask that our little colouring fan loved! We were able to bring them home to finish at home too-we take our time with colouring! We hadn’t visited before so it was all new to us, there is a lot of grounds to explore, including woodland and play areas not to mention the amazing Wildlife World-this is such a fantastic surprise in the middle of the Lotherton grounds! There are so many different exhibits in the wildlife world and it looks there is ongoing work to expand and improve the area too. Our children love animals and our favourites were the very friendly and playful penguins and the inquisitive owls! There are lots of different areas to the grounds to explore, a rock garden, formal gardens, woodland area, deer and hide, an orchard, garden games that include chess and draughts. There are also play areas, one for smaller children with a great climbing frame and one for older children that is laid out in a lovely big open grasses area with plenty of room to explore (we had great fun all of us on the big wooden seesaw!) Lotherton Scarecrow trail is very popular and the grounds were full of families having a great time looking out for the many spooky figures and having a great time! I don’t think we saw everything on our visit so we definitely need to go back to see and try everything Lotherton has to offer!

Recommended by Victoria with children ages 6 and 2 on Wed Sep 11 2019

Lotherton Hall is great for all ages. Large gardens to play in, kids adventure playground, plus you can visit Animal World and see the penguins. The house itself is open to visitors and is a great museum with frequent kids craft activities taking place. In the spring and summertime you’ll find lawn games and often there are themed weekends such as the food festival. Loads of parking and the field at the rear is a great place to park if you want to use the football nets. We have an annual pass and it’s well worth it. You can spend a whole day here or just a couple of hours. Near the main house there is a cafe, toilets and baby changing.