Belsay Hall Quarry Garden

What it’s like

Rocky quarry ravines to scramble round, a medieval castle to explore and a Wild Man Play Area, set in 30 acres of grounds.

The quarry garden is the bit that makes this different from your usual hall-and-grounds day out. It's a proper sandstone quarry planted up into rocky ravines, so you're walking between cut rock faces rather than round a formal lawn. Kids can do the World Builder trail and build their own fort, wander Crag Wood, or head for the Wild Man Play Area at the Coach House, and there's a medieval castle and a Greek Revival mansion to poke around too, so the afternoon splits nicely between wild scrambling and proper history.

Reckon on three hours if you want to do the grounds and both buildings justice, and you'll want to plan around last entry at 4:30pm since the whole site shuts an hour after. The castle and manor house are up a 700m path with steps, which is a fair walk if you've got a buggy or tired legs by that point, and it's not accessible for wheelchair users to the upper levels, though the gardens themselves have flat, pushchair-friendly paths.

Food-wise there's a tearoom in the old kitchen and a Coach House café doing meat stotties and soups, which covers you for lunch without needing to drive off site. Booking isn't required, you can just turn up, but booking online by midnight the day before gets you 15% off, and turning up on the day means paying full price, which stings a bit if you didn't know. Under-fives go free with a free infant ticket, and there's a 20% discount if you come on the X75 bus.

Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are free to hire on site, and there's a RADAR key for garden access along with level access to the hall via the tearoom entrance. The shop has level access too but the doorway is narrow.

Facilities

Need to know

Best for

Families with older kids happy to walk the quarry and castle paths

Last entry

4:30pm (one hour before closing)

Booking

Book online by midnight the day before to get 15% discount

How long to allow

3 hours

Food

Tearoom in old kitchen and Coach House café with meat stotties, soups and locally-sourced items

Pushchairs

Welcome. Flat accessible paths through grounds

Wheelchairs

Free wheelchair and mobility scooter hire

Getting there by bus or train

20% discount on admission with X75 bus service

Worth knowing

Membership includes free entry for up to six children accompanied by an adult member

• Book online by midnight the day before for 15% off, otherwise it's full price on the day
• Last entry is 4:30pm, an hour before closing
• The path to the castle and manor house is 700m with steps, not wheelchair accessible up top
• Bring your NUS card if you want the student concession, it's checked on arrival
• Coming by the X75 bus gets you 20% off admission

Plan your visit

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