A naturally inspiring day out – Pensthorpe Natural Park

A naturally inspiring family day out

Pensthorpe is over 700 acres of natural park to explore just outside Fakenham, Norfolk. It is the multiple winner of Norfolk’s best large attraction. Pensthorpe is a great day out for the whole family. It has wheelchair/pushchair friendly routes as well as other nature walks. From exploring the wader aviary to seeing the endangered Red Squirrels to playing in the outdoor – WildzRoots or the indoor play – HootzHouse. There is plenty for everyone to do. Throughout the year Pensthorpe hosts a variety of events, so it is best to check before you visit just incase!

HootzHouse and WildRootz

Both Hootzhouse and Wildrootz are great for all ages (1-100!) HootzHouse is indoor play like you have never seen before. It is designed so that you can enjoy a nature inspired play time but without the worry of the Great British weather. There is a little café inside with seating upstairs that looks over the huge HootzHouse play area. If the weather is behaving you can also enjoy WildRootz, an outdoor play area. You can climb, swing, slide and even splash (yes, there is streams for little ones to play in!.

Animals?

Obviously there is quite a few animals at Pensthorpe but don’t only expect a few ducks. There are so many different types of birds, as well as a lovely area for the endangered Red Squirrels. As we visited in June, there were a lot of baby animals which Elsa loved!

More Family Fun

There isn’t just adventure play and awwing at the baby animals for families to do. They have 3 trails to do throughout your day, a stamp trail (you do receive a little prize for completing this one), a bug trails and a mirror trail. So you can pick and choose which trails you do. You can discover the secret side of the Wensum river and valley on the Pensthorpe explorer. A warden led tour on a 4X4. This is a seasonal attraction, so check before you visit and there is an extra charge.

Our thoughts

We visited Pensthorpe on a Sunday in June when the weather was really good and even though the car park was full, the park didn’t feel over crowded. We spent 5 hours there but could have easy spent from open to close walking around. Elsa loved watching all the birds, it is a very laid back day out as you can take your time to get round and there is a lot of seating around the park. Nearly all of Pensthorpe is easily accessible for both wheelchairs and pushchairs, which is handy as Elsa soon tired herself out running round but we did have the option of using the buggy. The staff were very friendly and welcoming. We loved our day out at Pensthorpe and we would definitely recommended it!