Vogrie Country Park — Attraction in Scotland

This is a beautiful park, now managed by Midlothian Council, but formerly a private Victorian estate,with Vogrie House at its centre. There is a golf course, several play areas, barbecue area and various shelters. There is a small cafe in the main house, serving basics, fairly pricey for what it is. The house is also the headquarters of the Midlothian country park ranger so there's good information available about what to do and see there and in other parks around the area. The park itself is open from dawn to dusk 365 days per year. I don't think there's anything to see inside the house itself. Car parking is £2, you need to bring cash. I was in the area and wanting to get some fresh air and did a very manageable (I walk with two sticks) short walk from the house, across a meadow, past some amazing giant trees, into the woods. Then along 'beech walk' and back across the gulf course to the car. If you're disabled, depending on what you can manage, you'll find something worthwhile to explore here. There are good, though not very good, disabled facilities. First of all, if you have a blue badge, you may park closer to the house, this is not obvious at the entrance though as the sun for it is past the main car park and the lettering needs repainting. It's still a short walk from the disabled /staff car park to the house, and if you are in a manual wheelchair, there's a short slope which you'll have to go back up when you return to your car. The entry to the disabled toilet and also the cafe is then somewhat awkward, as you basically have to go am the way around the house and press a buzzer for someone to open the door for you. Beware, the door opens outward, so stand/roll back from the door after you buzz. It was pretty dark inside, but I find the lift that takes you up to the cafe. It would be useful if they mark the door from the reception hall into the cafe me clearly, s there are several possibilities. There was a vacuum cleaner just inside the door to the cafe, which sas a potential tripping hazard, but then it was extremely quiet in the cafe, so maybe that was just a one off. I think there a couple of other disabled toilets around the park too, which presumably are on ground level. I want here for long but really enjoyed a very quiet and beautiful walk, with giant sycamore, conker,...

We had a good Segway experience here last year, we only had time to pop down to Vogrie house and the cafe briefly, we spotted the playpark and thought this would make a good day out for our 5 year old.

Covid got in the way but we made it back today. The first thing that strikes you is the absence of any useful signage or adequate footpaths. Pedestrians and cars are immediately placed in conflict and you have no idea where to go.

We walked down the main road to Vogrie house, and granted it's been chucking it down, but there was a clear lack of appropriate drainage with the road badly flooded by the entrance. This puts you in the grass due to no pavement. Because of the rain all the grass was boggy or muddy. Pretty rubbish if you have a pushchair.

The theme of awkward paving continues with no clear access to the cafe. The path is roped off meaning, again, you're in the mud.

The cafe is fine, but some broken tables. There was a strangely large population of chavs visiting and they made no effort to pick up their litter. The staff didn't have face masks on.

I've no idea if the cafe normally has toilets but right now you are directed to the ones by the playground. Poo smeared toilets seats and all the sealant is covered in black mold. I think I was more dirty after leaving.

The playground is very well equipped, but was also waterlogged and muddy. And was incredibly busy. No social distancing here. Frustratingly there was a number of adults using the playground as well, some were helping their kids, but others seemed to have mistaken this for a Go Ape. Either way having some fat bloke on top of the climbing frame doesn't play well with an unsteady 5 year old. Same with adults riding the zip line and going down the slides. Grow up!

Overall I'd say there isn't a whole lot of money being invested here. The grounds seem unkept, the grass was long, paths flooded and mud everywhere. We went to Dalkeith country park the previous week and it was night and day. The parking was free today, and I'd still say it was overpriced.

On a hot day, with fewer visitors and no covid it would make a decent picnic spot. Other than...

Really letdown by my experience here today. We found out about this park recently and have been wanting to try it out when the weather turned.

Today, while driving our little one around for a nap in her car seat, we decided to take a drive through Vogrie as a bit of a scouting mission. We wouldn't be able to stop and get out but figured if it was anything like Dalkeith CP, we could drive through and have a look, then go back for a full visit in a week or so.

Although I noticed a sign at the gate noting a 2 pound charge for the car park, it wasn't apparent that we would need to turn around immediately at the gate to avoid such a charge. Once going past the gate, I began to wonder if there was indeed no escape from the car park and sure enough, was funneled directly to it, with no chance to turn back. And as it was, there wasn't even any part of the park to see up until that point.

Once entering the car park, I proceeded directly to the exit, then called the attendant to explain to him what had happened. I told him that we hadn't realized we couldn't turn back and had simply driven straight through the car park without using it. It was only 11:05AM and the fee was effective as of 11AM so it's not like we could have spent any time there. The attendant didn't care and told me we had to pay the 2 pounds, no other way to exit.

Sure, it's only 2 pounds but this was a complete turn off to going to Vogrie now. It's too bad because it's a nice short drive from our home and we would have gone rather often. Instead, we'll just stick...