We’ve visited Lotherton so many times before, but this was our first time walking the boundary route. It’s perfect for little walkers!
Distance: 2km
Website: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/lotherton/
Parking: Field car park. You usually pay for entry to Lotherton (currently suspended in lockdown), but would get access to the Wildlife Park, the house and facilities.
Accessibility: In dry weather this route is absolutely possible with a buggy. Be careful when wet, once you turn away from the gardens it’s a grassy path so can get boggy in wetter months.
Facilities: Currently the cafe is operating takeaway only. When normal service resumes, toilets, play areas, and a cafe.
Route: Follow signposts, outlined on map below in red. No map needed for walk itself.
Walking the Lotherton Boundary Route
From the field car park, walk towards the cafe past the beautiful gardens. What a treat to enjoy on such a beautiful day. There were a number of families enjoying picnics, but there was plenty of space for everyone!
Once at the cafe, turn right and head along the straight path past the play area and picnic field. Turn right at the end into the woodland (the start of the 12 Days walk for those of you who have visited at Christmas). The route is marked with a wooden signpost. Watch out for wooden blackbirds and play activities on the route (currently taped off)!
After the five rings pictured above, take the left turn along a tree lined path. The route takes you around the back of the playing fields and parking.
As you pass, you may want to look in at the Orchard; a beautiful place and great for picnics and games of hide and seek.
As you walk along the path, keep looking to your left to get glimpses of some rather lovely views. Every day’s a school day! We used the opportunity of seeing a wind farm to talk about electricity and their purpose.
Perhaps our favourite part of the walk was the stone circle. You pass this directly. It was great for a snack stop and (another) game of hide and seek!
Continuing the walk eventually leads you to the entrance of the Deer Park. This is currently closed, but you can still enjoy watching the deer from the perimeter fence.
Finally, we headed back towards the house to enjoy a bit more of the beautiful gardens. Usually, we would reward our little walker by visting some of the other fantastic experiences at Lotherton, described in this post from a previous visit.
It’s a great little walk and really does let you see Lotherton’s best bits. I hope you enjoy it!
