A Family Trip To Creswell Crags

Living here in Nottinghamshire we are surrounded by so much on our doorstep and just across the boarder into Derbyshire that in less than an hour we really could be at some exciting locations.

Unfortunately for us though we have taken our location for granted, along with family quality time and so there are so many places nearby that we have vowed to visit and yet still have not.

This year we are aiming to have a family trip out at least once but preferably a couple of times each month. Exploring the area we live in and spending some time together. 

In January we wanted to kickstart our adventures with something I had visited as a child but never visited since. Creswell Crags is a limestone gorge between the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire boarder and it has caves that have been said to have been lived in within the ice age in the ravine. 

During a nice frosty morning in January Ollie and I loaded the kids into the car and headed off out. The truth was we were tempted with the same old lazy weekend of sitting around in our fat pants but pushed through and headed out before we changed our minds.

Getting to Creswell Crags was super easy and trouble free. There is a large car park onsite that charges £4 for all day parking (you need exact change)

We hadn’t planned anything for while we were there just a crisp walk out and about. There is an option to pay to go into some of the caves on a tour to see the wall carvings but we really did just want fresh air and so decided we would do more on our next visit.

The area is well laid out with signs and maps that explain the layout and how to get to where you are going. We headed through Crags Meadow which has a few things for the kids to climb on and a beautiful spot to take a picnic (if it wasn’t -2 degrees!) 

The Gorge itself has many little brooks and rivers trailing off so there are some epic bridges that make for great games of pooh sticks with the kids. Jacob loved the first game but hated that he couldn’t get his stick back! 

On our way around the gorge there were steps up to the caves and the kids loved exploring the hills and steps while we too k a more leisurely stroll. Each cave is named and has an explanation of why it’s named that along with what they have found inside the cave.

We all found it utterly interesting that there could have been people living in the caves so long ago!

After our walk around the gorge we decided to head inside for a snack in the restaurant/cafe but it
was so busy there was nowhere to sit so we decided to visit the gift shop and then head home.

We are certainly going to visit again in the warmer months but this time take our own picnic and snacks and hopefully book in to some of the actual cave tours to explore further. 

It has been so lovely to get out and about even in the colder weather.