Rufford Abbey Country Park

I've been going to Rufford for decades. Yesterday went to fetch an annual parking pass. Noone seemed to know what to do or where to go. Given a real run around from the Abbey to Mill shop and offices, tea room. No-one without a prepaid pass was allowed in. For decades it was open for everyone. The restrictions on parking, dogs and everything is ruining it, now it's for those who can afford it or have IT to prebook. It's still lovely but the more managed it becomes it loses so much. Returning today the car park man was relishing in his little bit of power at the mill shop end, yelling stop at cars when they had already turned right, putting them in line from cars coming from the Ford ,turning them away in a dangerous place. There were no signs for people until they turned in that only pre paid could park. When I went in and parked there were loads of spaces.

Just had a great afternoon out strolling around the lake and absolutely loved the place we will definitely be going back . All social distancing is in place . Lots of benches to sit if you tire ( which I do lol ) . Also quite a few places to sit and have a picnic . The courtyard cafe is a safe place to have a refreshment and sit a while . Before the walk back . We parked in the car park near the lake and it was paid Safely by credit card , only four pounds which is for the day .

Price: £4.00 parking
We visited here when there was no where really else to go.
At first i thought that £4 for parking was a bit steep but i realised after going around the park that the parking was worth the money.
The park was closed when we went due to the current situation, however there was enough to do for the day.
Would recommend going here for the day when the weather is nice and it wont cost the earth either, just pay £4.00 parking for the day and bring sandwiches.

Paid an early morning visit to the grounds and lake, stopped for a coffee and a tea in the courtyard restaurant,they would not take cash only card payments. When I contacted them on their website,they replied to say that would not be changing this system. Arrogant and insulting. We have been coming here for over 35 years. Also supported some of their themed events for a complete weekend without expecting payments.That was the last time we will ever visit

This place is just great. Costs £4 to park for the whole day and you can literally spend the whole day there.

The weather was awful the day we went but that didn’t stop us spending 6 hours here.

We started at the children’s playground which has been redone since our last visit four years ago. Our daughter absolutely love it, especially the zip wires. Then we went and some rounds of crazy golf. This is an extra cost at £5pp or £10 for 4 people. If there’s more then 1 of you playing, don’t knock all your balls into the last hole and go around again ;)

We then headed for one of the eateries on site and throughly enjoyed a good sized meal, we even managed to get a space inside to take a break from the rain.

After this we went on a walk around the lake. When you get to the opposite side of the lake there is an opportunity to take a pedal boat or row boat on the lake. This cost £10 for 30 minutes. We didn’t let the rain stop us and the great thing was we were the only people in the lake. We started to head back to get out and we asked how long we had left and the men said we could have as long as we wanted because no one else wanted to row on the lake in the rain lol.

We then stopped for an ice cream and just round the corner is a great view point where the water from the lake drains over the road. Some cars will cautiously go through the water that is only 15cm deep in average, but drivers who are familiar with this will go through and will create a huge splash. This is very entertaining to watch.

After this we took the walk back through the woods and past some animal graves of the family that lived on this site and then headed back to the playground for more fun before we left.

The abbey ruin was closed for us on this visit but it wasn’t the main reason for our visit on this occasion.

We stopped to stretch our legs on a long journey and I was initially miffed at the £4 parking charge which seemed steep.

The courtyard is well kept, with a shop and cafe, It only serves a very limited selection of food/drink but this is probably Covid restricted.

The grounds are well manicured. Not much in the way of flower boards but there's a nice walk round a lake and a gallery to watch car speed through a ford and wet bystanders!

Not sure if you can get into the old hall, but there are plenty of Info Board about which show the rich history of this place.

All in all, £4 is a reasonable entry price for this little park.

We visited here while staying at Sherwood Pines. What a fantastic way to spend a few hours. £4 to park for however long you want to stay and you could really stay all day here. Absolutely gorgeous to walk around with so much to see. Lovely ice cream parlour if not a little bit expensive but this can be overlooked due to the fact the place is almost free to enter. We got a rowing boat out for £10 for 30 minutes but there was also pedalos available. A lovely and nice way to spend 1/2 hour! We also loved the mill car splash which is a ford and the children can stand either side screaming or heckling at the cars to get them to race through and make the biggest splash to soak the kids. Honestly after the whole year with covid this part made my day, the smiles and laughter from adults and kids just made my day, what a brilliant and simple thing to bring joy!

There was also a Punch and Judy show throughout the day which my youngest loved and footballs and garden games are also welcome to be brought along.

I wish we lived closer, I'd be heading here so much especially as dogs also welcome.

Long time since I've been to Rufford and then it was to see the bluebells. This time we'd gone to walk the lake, but as we noticed the formal gardens, we had a wander there first. The Orangery is now a small garden centre with a knowledgeable manager. Round the back is a collection of sculptures but sadly most of it goes unlabelled as either piece title or artist, which is a shame. There's also a small garden in front of the entrance to the abbey, which is currently closed because of Covid.

We then followed the lake path to walk round it to the mill, which is now a cafe. Had a drink and watched cars driving through the ford, then started back. Be aware that both the car park and cafe are only taking card payments.

It's a pleasant walk round and you can wander off into the wood to see the ice house. There's wildlife to see and plenty of seats dotted around. Access is good. There's also a children's play area.

In terms of the parking, we knew in advance what the charge was, but actually is not unreasonable if compared to the many public car parks in the region. As you could easily spend at least half a day here it seems fair. We though the property was well maintained. It's not somewhere I'd rush back to, but a lovely afternoon out.

Went to the park specifically to see the new Abbey Tales. Sherwood Forest has needed something about its history for a long time. Unfortunately Abbey Tales isn't it.
Whoever has designed it has all the right ideas, but it just doesn't work. There are plenty of displays to read but it is so dark you can't see them. Those you can see have numerous spelling mistakes. Rooms have videos of people dressed in period costume telling the story but the sound level is such that it's difficult to hear over the sound from the previous room and the next room.
Parkwood, who are now in charge of the running of the park, seem to have only one objective; to make money. So you have boats, putting, archery, ice creams etc, a charge for visiting Abbey Tales and, of course, £5 for the privilege of parking your car. One jewel that brought people in during mid week, the Saville Restaurant, is only open on Sundays.
Rufford was always, and still is, a pleasant place for a walk but if you're looking to find any of the history, you won't find much. Why English Heritage and Nottinghamshire County Council can't see this is anyone's guess. There are no books about the park or the history of the area to be found in the bookshop. You can't access the crypt or any part of the old house.
Clearly Parkwood are not concerned about the opinions of their visitors because there are no responses to be found from them on any of the Trip Advisor reviews.

We visited Rufford a few weeks ago, it's a beautiful place to walk around

When we visited we were constantly attacked by bees/wasps, we had lunch at the cafe next to the ice cream parlor.
The staff was amazing I honestly couldn't fault them the food we had was delicious but very overpriced.
My 2 children had ice cream in the parlor I nearly died at the cost of 2 pots with 2 scoops each, I understand staff wages, the upkeep of the Abbey, etc but with the number of people visiting I am sure you could lower the cost and still cover the above.

The only thing I will say is the park the children pully is very dangerous to have in the middle of a park when we visited 4 children were hit.

That needs sorting before someone is seriously injured.
Also, the net with the slide that needs sorting too has small children are following the older ones climbing up through the net over the wall.
Yes children know their limits but when small kids are copying it's an accident waiting to happen.

So if visiting I would bring your own food/drink if your on a budget,
and keep an eye on your children on the park!!!