Rothwell Country Park

What it’s like

Free country park with pond-dipping events, a sculpture trail and a spoil heap summit to climb for the views.

Pond-dipping is the thing to build a visit around here. There are organised events for finding common frogs and toads, smooth newts and dragonfly nymphs, which beats any nature worksheet for getting a five-year-old interested in pond life. Outside of those events there's still the pond trail to follow on your own.

The sculpture trail is worth the walk too, with Andrew McKeown's "Breaking the Mould" as the piece the site makes a point of. Push on further and you can climb the old spoil heap to the summit for the views, which is the bit to save for last if you've got legs still willing to walk after the ponds and the sculptures.

It's free to get in, which makes it an easy half-day out, and the 40-minute walk gives you a natural way to stretch that into a longer visit if the weather's decent. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are fine on the paths and picnics are allowed, so you can turn it into a proper sit-down lunch outdoors rather than rushing back to the car.

Getting there is the one bit that takes planning. There's roadside parking on Bullough Lane rather than a proper car park, and if you're coming by bus it's the 163 or 166 from Leeds city centre to Allerton Bywater, getting off on Station Road.

Facilities

Need to know

Parking

Roadside parking on Bullough Lane

How long to allow

A half day trip or extend with a 40-minute walk

Getting there by bus or train

Bus 163 and 166 from Leeds city centre to Allerton Bywater, alight on Station Road

• Pond-dipping runs as organised events, not something you can just turn up and do any day
• Picnics are allowed if you want to make a proper lunch of it
• Parking is on-street on Bullough Lane, not a car park
• The spoil heap summit walk is the one to do last, it's the furthest point

Plan your visit

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