Everyday family fun

There are many exciting activities for families to do together at Ickworth, whatever the season or weather.

Our play area and den building

On fine days, older children will love the swings, slides and zip wire in our adventure play area. Or why not help them try their hands at building dens in our shaded Albana walk? Let off some steam on our ‘trim trail’. Keep fit and try out exercises such as hurdles, leap frog, monkey bars and more; all to be found in the Albana walk trim trail.

The adventure starts here…

Little ones will love exploring our acres of woodland with one of our '50 things to do before you are 11¾' adventure scrapbooks, which include fun, educational activities from splashing in a puddle to flying a kite. These scrapbooks can be picked up free of charge from a number of locations here, and any '50 things' activities completed here will be awarded with a special 'well done' sticker and stamp which can be collected at our Porter's lodge visitor reception.

Go equipped for your exploration with one of our adventure backpacks, available in a range of child-friendly colours and free to borrow from our Porter's Lodge visitor reception. These backpacks include all the tools you need to go adventuring; compasses, magnifying glasses and bug viewers, as well as identification guides for the birds, insects and plants that can be found on the estate.

Discover our magical Stumpery at the back of our Italianate gardens. See if you and your children can spot the sleeping dragon and her egg nest on this fern festooned walk. Feel free to bring your bikes and follow one of our two family cycle trails around the estate – we’ve a short route specially designed for little legs!

Playing house

Little ones can play lord and lady in our mini Rotunda play house, which can be found in the outdoor seating area behind Porter’s lodge café. Curious young minds will love stepping back in time and imagining life as a servant at Ickworth in the 1930s by exploring the winding corridors and touchable exhibits of the servants’ quarters.

Indoor activities

On rainy days keep your little ones amused with our classic parlour games in the West Wing reception such as ludo, dominoes and bagatelle. Younger children love playing with the dolls houses. Toys and books are also available to purchase from our gift shop and our second hand books. In the Suffolk school holidays, every day, we run indoor seasonal themed kids’ arts and crafts in our gallery.

Feeling peckish?

We always provide child-sized meals and drinks in our cafés. High chairs are available to use in our main West Wing café, where we can also warm baby food and bottles. We also have an outdoor dog friendly café to the back of Porter’s Lodge visitor reception. You’re very welcome to bring your own food to with you. We’ve a number of picnic tables by the adventure play area and numerous wonderful picnic spots across the estate.

Good to know

• A number of our parkland walks are accessible by prams and pushchairs. Just pick up one of our maps or speak with one of our Visitor Experience Assistants to learn more.
• Baby changing areas are located in the main car park and West Wing toilets.
• Baby carriers and hip seats are available to borrow from the West Wing reception.
• One of our volunteer drivers may even let you have a ride around the grounds on the Ickworth golf buggy!