Delapre Park — Attraction in Great Britain

Great place for young children to have a bit of a run around in, and anyone else who enjoys a walk. Just keep an eye out for dog poo, as the car parking is free here, which means there are loads of dog walkers taking their dog/s for a walk. In summer, it's perfect as a place for a lovely picnic. The outdoors toilets to the left of the mansion are not nice, however, you have been warned. If you live nearby, you can now walk safely along the long road in leading up towards the car parking area. There is a useful overspill car park, but with very confusing entry and no entry points. You'll find out when you get there.

Beyond this, there isn't much to keep children's interest going, except from May to October when the sit-on steam trains are run on the first Sunday afternoon of each month only (see the last part of this review).

It IS a great place for adults to go for a healthy walk and for a lookin at the newly renovated Delapre Abbey. You can find a café on the mansion's right-hand side, cleaner toilets as well, and the beautiful (in summer), walled garden surrounding it at the back. Directly behind are the ornamental rock and water gardens, in need of some tlc, and a lake a short walk further down.

In summer, there are concerts in the grounds and there are various other happenings at other times. From May until October, on the first Sunday of each month, the very enthusiastic Northampton Society of Model Engineers (NSME) have a public run of their small sit-on steam trains for £1 per ride. They can be found directly to the left of the main road entrance. It's very popular and you will have to be there early to avoid the queues, or very late to get real enjoyment from the experience. The engineers seem to thoroughly enjoy it, that's for sure. One of them dress up for the occasion as well! Plenty of parking as they make use of the grassed areas. Again, no...

I had a lovely day here with my elderly parents. There's a good range of exhibits and plenty of video and boards with information about the Abbey and the rooms. The Guides are extremely knowledgeable and friendly and helpful and there are some interactive things to keep people busy. My special favourite was the mechanical theatre play - a fantastic way to engage people with history. Another great thing is that you can touch almost everything. So in the Library you can sit and read the books, play with the Kaleidoscope viewer, etc. I don't think young children would get much out of a visit but probably 9/10 upwards would be okay. After visiting the Abbey building you can walk round the garden, the woods and the lovely walled garden, and the cafe is excellent. Free parking close to the building is also a bonus. I've been a couple of times now and enjoyed...

Walking distance from town centre this space is lovely with many trees including some nice ones to climb. Free carpark on the small side but we had no issues getting a space. A bit on the muddy side in the middle of winter but reasonable walking conditions. The day we visited was cold but clear. Some parts of the park were quite windswept and bitter. There was a constant noise of the m1 in the distance even though it's a good few miles away. The 3 stars was really because the clientele was disappointingly lacking in diversity which contrasts with the town centre. Prices in the cafe were on the high side with limited vegetarian and vegan and gluten free options. A cosy sideroom was in use for a party booking which looked lovely and comfy. Toilets were spacious and very clean. On the whole a nice place to visit but would like to see a bit more catering...