Family days out at Ilam Park and the White Peak
- Published:
- 27 February 2023
Ilam Park and the White Peak is a great place for families and dog walkers. There are plenty of gentle riverside walks, as well as opportunities for picnics, adventures and exploring. You can relax in our deckchairs and enjoy the far-reaching views across the Italian Gardens towards Dovedale or take part in any of our seasonal activities. Take a look at what you and your family can do this season in this special place.
Half term fun at Ilam Park and Dovedale
This May we're calling all the nature lovers, artists and explorers for an adventure in the White Peak!
Nature Journals
Nature Journals are back by popular demand so there's plenty of opportunity to capture the memories of your nature discoveries. Look high and low for the signs of summer, collect colours and shapes, look for leaves, listen for birds and fill your Nature Journal booklet with all your experiences. Pop into the second hand bookshop at Ilam Park and the welcome van at Dovedale to purchase a Nature Journal for £3.
Find out more about Nature Journals at Ilam Park here.
Find out more about Nature Journals at Dovedale here.
Get Crafting!
The second hand bookshop at Ilam Park will also host extra self led crafts for visitors to drop in and get their craft on!
Family Guided Walk
On the 28May join us on our 'Family Guided Walk: Geology, Archaeology and Landscape', designed for curious minds of all ages to discover fun and exciting facts about this ancient landscape. Find out more and book your place here.
Discover wonderful wildlife
Everyone is invited to 'Meet the Moths' on 29 May! Discover the moths we collect in our humane moth trap and learn all about the magical moths that live at Ilam Park. Enjoy their incredible patterns, colours and fluffy textures and then get stuck in at the mothy drawing station! Find out more here.
50 things to do before you’re 113/4
From playing pooh sticks to den building and fossil hunting, there are plenty of opportunities to complete some of your 50 things at Ilam Park and Dovedale. Find out more here.
Find the perfect place for a picnic
It might be a bit chilly this time of year, but the park can still be a great place to eat outdoors with plenty of picturesque places to choose from. The popular Manifold Tea-room offers plenty of choice for hungry and thirsty explorers too.
Ten top tips for things to do with the family in the White Peak
- Spot fossils in the stone steps in Dovedale valley
- Cycle the route of the former railway track in the Manifold valley
- Spot the old chimney pots in the Italian Garden at Ilam Park
- See the 'money trees' beside the path in Dovedale
- See Viator’s Bridge at Milldale - an ancient packhorse bridge
- Listen to the water bubbling in the boil holes in Ilam Park
- Explore caves in Dovedale valley
- Walk across the ridge and furrow in Ilam Park
- Look out for wildlife in and around the National Nature Reserve at Dovedale
- Find a far reaching view from the top of Thorpe Cloud or the other peaks in the White Peaks
Wonderful Wildlife
Take the time to notice all the wonderful ways of wildlife when you explore Ilam Park, Dovedale and the White Peak. Tune in your senses to reconnect with nature that is all around you - crouch down and take a closer look at the bugs on the ground or stand close to a tree and listen to all the different birdsongs in the tree canopy above you. Will you spot dippers diving across the river, buzzards soaring high above or yellow wagtails bobbing about?
