England Family-Friendly Sightseeing, Attractions & Activities

recommended places to visit and things to do with children in England


Longleat House

Warminster

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  • film/tv location
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  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • visitor centre
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  • antiques
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  • local history
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  • walking
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lose yourself in the world's longest hedge maze, visit the Elizabethan stately home or drive through the world famous safari park

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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • local history
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  • nature
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  • TV
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

set in a magnificent deer park, the ancestral home of the Russell family for nearly 400 years has many attractions, including a famous wild life reserve

  • film/tv location
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  • historic house
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  • museum
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  • something different!
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • guided tours
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  • virtual tours
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  • architecture
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  • film
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  • Harry Potter
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  • history
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  • TV
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

dating back to the fourteenth century and closely associated with many historical events. Now best known as one of the locations for the Harry Potter films

Croome

Worcester

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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • National Trust
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  • visitor centre
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  • nature
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  • transport
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  • aviation
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

a secret, wartime airbase now a museum and visitor centre, restored parkland great for walking and with the 18th Century mansion at its centre

Ormesby Hall

Middlesbrough

  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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surrounded by 250 acres of park and farmland with year round seasonal walks and a colourful Victorian formal garden accompanying the mansion

Sandringham

Sandringham

  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • history
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  • royalty
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

the much loved country retreat of HM Queen Elizabeth ll. Explore objets d'art collected by the Royal family, or browse the classic cars in the Transport Museum

The Bowes Museum

Barnard Castle

  • museum
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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a treasure trove of objets' d'art including the famous silver swan automaton surrounded by luxurious gardens and parklands with children's play area

  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • National Trust
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  • cycling
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  • furniture
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

the house, home of the quirky Museum of Curiosities, is surrounded by an informal landscape of lawns, lakes, woodland, parkland and farmland

  • art gallery
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  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • history
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

set in classical parkland landscaped by Capability Brown, now with an adventure playground, this period mansion is also a world class art gallery

Kenwood House

London NW3

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  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • free admission
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  • open year round
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  • English Heritage
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  • café
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  • guided tours
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  • local history
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  • social history
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  • walking

with paintings by world famous artists Rembrandt and Vermeer, this hidden gem offers a unique look at an elegant Georgian mansion

Rievaulx Terrace

Kirkbymoorside

  • historic house
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  • National Trust
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grand and tranquil historic house with an impressive ionic temple, a woodland play area and outdoor games for children. Picnics welcome

Ripley Castle

Harrogate

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lived in by the same family since the fourteenth century with armour and portraits of the family down the centuries and extensive gardens and parklands. Picnics permitted

  • art gallery
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  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • park
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • National Trust
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  • café
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  • antiques
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  • furniture
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  • history
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

a fine example of a country house estate built in the late 17th Century surrounded by beautiful gardens and with a large outdoor adventure playground

  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • museum
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  • park
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • guided tours
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  • antiques
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  • architecture
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  • history
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  • walking

a fine Elizabethan mansion refurbished in the 17th Century with extensive collections of paintings and objets d'art

Holkham

Holkham

  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • architecture
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  • cycling
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  • furniture
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  • history
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  • nature
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an elegant Palladian stately home, with a magnificent walled garden, extensive parkland with cycle routes and children's play areas

  • historic house
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • walking

set in a beautiful and diverse garden, this Elizabethan castle is still a family home displaying portraits, alongside contemporary photographs