Cragwell Country Park: Visitor Map

About the park

Cragwell Country Park covers forty hectares of woodland, water and open grassland, and is looked after by a small team of rangers and volunteers. Entry to the park is free, and it is open every day from dawn until dusk. This leaflet will help you find the main attractions.

Getting started

Visitors arriving by road should follow the brown signs from the town centre to the park entrance, which leads straight into the Car Park in the south-east corner. Parking costs £2 for the whole day. Immediately to the west of the Car Park is the Visitor Centre, where you can pick up trail guides, buy hot drinks and borrow binoculars. Further west, in the south-west corner of the park, is the pony paddock, home to three retired ponies that children can meet at 11 am each day.

Around the water

The Boating Lake lies in the middle of the park, north of the Visitor Centre. Rowing boats can be hired from Easter to September. On the western shore of the lake there is a small orchard, planted with old local varieties of apple and pear. Visitors may pick up fallen fruit in the autumn. Directly north of the Car Park, on the eastern side of the lake, is the picnic meadow, with tables and barbecue stands that can be booked through the Visitor Centre.

The northern part of the park

Bluebell Wood covers the north-west of the park and is at its best in late April and May. Please keep to the marked paths so that the flowers are not damaged. The bird hide stands on the northern shore of the Boating Lake, at the eastern edge of Bluebell Wood, and is a good place to watch herons and kingfishers. In the far north-east corner, at the highest point in the park, is the viewpoint, from which you can see across the valley on a clear day.

Please remember

Dogs must be kept on a lead near the pony paddock and the Boating Lake. Cycling is allowed on the main paths but not in Bluebell Wood. Swimming in the lake is not permitted at any time, and all litter should be taken home or put in the bins beside the Visitor Centre.