You may not be able to explore everywhere with your family on your first visit to Wimpole, but here are some family favourites by area to help you decide where to head to first. And if you don’t get to them all, you can always come back!
Home Farm
Home Farm is one of the UK’s largest rare breed centres and a working farm with horses, sheep, pigs, goats and more. Meet the gentle giants - our Shire horses - in their brand new stable block or take a look around the barns on a rainy day.
Throughout the day you can see the piglets being fed, meet one of our resident rabbits or help us groom Daisy and Clementine, our Provence donkeys. During the lambing season you may even be lucky enough to see the birth of a rare breed lamb.
Adventure woodland
Head to the trees just beyond Home Farm and you’ll discover our adventure woodland. Test your climbing skills and your balance on the walkways and castles and find everything you need to build an impressive den in the woods.
The Folly and parkland
Set on top of a hill in the 300 acres of ancient parkland is the gothic Folly, a ruined tower straight out of a fairy story. Cross the Chinese bridge and climb to the top of the hill to enjoy the views over the roof of the Hall below.
Don’t forget to pick up a seasonal scavenger hunt from the ticket office in the stable block or go hunting for a geocache with your phone app to help you explore the parkland and beyond. And while you are out there why not try some of the ‘50 things to do before you’re 11¾’?
Wimpole Hall and gardens
Children love to explore the servants quarters in the basement or discover some of the more unusual features of Wimpole Hall such as the huge sunken bath inspired by Roman bathhouses in Pompeii. A new trail around the house reveals the technologies used over the years to keep it running, from chamber pots to drone cameras.
Step outside in the gardens and families can try their hands at bowls on the lawn. See if your children can find the secret laurel tunnel in the Pleasure Grounds or seek out the Gardener’s Cottage to make their own pot and plant to take home. Don’t forget to check our What’s On page for more seasonal events and activities.
Stop for a treat
Our restaurants and cafes serve hot and cold food, delicious bakes and treats, hot drinks and ice creams and the Farm Cafe is particularly popular with families. There are picnic and toilet facilities very close by and a play area for our younger visitors.
At the stable block there is also a small cafe, a book shop, and a toy shop if you would like a different sort of treat or memento from your visit. At weekends families enjoy watching our volunteer spinning wool from our sheep into hats using a traditional spinning wheel.
Facilities for children
There are baby changing facilities across the estate and high chairs in all the restaurants and cafes at Wimpole. We offer hip carriers for infants inside the house and there are accessible routes around the grounds (the paths across the grazed parkland up to the Folly may not be suitable for some buggies).
