Gedling Country Park

WHAT IT’S LIKE

Former colliery turned 276-acre country park with a mining-themed play area, zip wire and accessible trails, free to explore, with a proper café for afters.

Gedling Country Park is a 276-acre former colliery site turned Local Nature Reserve, with mining heritage woven throughout, murals, mosaics and a mining-themed play area with a tower slide and zip wire. It opened in 2015 and has held Green Flag status every year since. For families, the big draw is the children's play area (with a separate toddler zone featuring swings, slides and a wheelchair-accessible roundabout) plus the zip wire for older kids. The High Hazles nature trail is accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs with only gentle slopes, and takes families past carvings of eight animals, pick up a trail leaflet and crayon from the café for 20p. There's also a British native tree trail with 50 species, with one route being pushchair and wheelchair friendly, and a leaflet available for a suggested 20p donation at the visitor centre. The visitor centre near the Spring Lane entrance has toilets, a Changing Places facility (accessible via radar key, available from the café), and houses Café 1899, which does made-to-order hot and cold food and has an accessible outdoor decking area with great views. There are several picnic areas dotted around the park (no barbecues allowed), and dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead near car parks, the play area and visitor centre, and are not allowed on the grazing grasslands.