Rother Valley Country Park is based just a few minutes drive off the M1, just South of Sheffield in Rotherham. It is jammed packed with outdoor activities for families, and a great place to spend the day on a family walk or cycle. Walking into the country park is free- but you will have to pay for parking if you arrive by car.
Parking: Parking is at the main visitor centre and costs £1 an hour up to 5 hours, or £6 all day. You can pay on exit by card at the exit barrier.
Facilities: LOADS. But at the main carpark you’ll find the Courtyard, which has toilets baby change and a cafe. There’s a play area, cycle hire and although currently closed, a miniature railway and farm. There is also a watersports and activity centre with lots of things on offer!
Walks around Rother Valley Country Park
There are a number of options for family walks around Rother Valley Country Park (see the park map here). A common route is the flat 5km circuit of the Main Leisure lake and the Northern Lake, which might take 1-2 hours with children (especially if they like to stop and watch everything!). The path is perfect for buggies, bikes and scooters (although can get muddy/ have puddles in wet weather). Top tip: if your children need a bit of bribery walk clockwise around the Main Lake so the play area is towards the end!
We loved watching the Jet Skis at the Northern Lake, and there was a well positioned ice cream man so we could munch whilst we watched too!
Can you cycle around Rother Valley Country Park?
YES. There are lots of cycle paths and you can also hire bikes for 1-2 hours the from the Cycle Centre. Find the price list here. The cycle trails map is available from the Cycle Centre in the Park.
Can you camp at Rother Valley Country Park?
Yes, and that’s exactly what we did. Waleswood Campsite is just a short walk uphill from the Visitor’s Centre. It’s a great site- with an on-site bar, play area and good washroom facilities. I personally can recommend the breakfast butties too!! It’s one of the few campsites that we’ve stayed at which wasn’t in the middle of nowhere- so takeaways were a welcome treat!
Things to do near Rother Valley : Aston Springs Farm
Just up the road ( a 5 minute drive from the campsite) we also visited Aston Springs Farm and absolutely loved it there! The prices were really reasonable for families- it was under £20 for a family ticket. We loved the farm trail and feeding the different animals on our walk. We’ve been to many small farms as a family (our kids just love animals!) but this was was really well planned out. There was a good picnic area (with a little train) and also a play area (probably more to do for over 5s).
If the weather is terrible, you might also want to check out the Vintage Tack Room & Play Barn, next door to the Farm. They serve pizza with a under 6 soft play area attached to the restaurant. Winner!
We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend at Rother Valley- we could have absolutely come for the day, it was less than an hour’s drive from Leeds. A great change of scenery in this beautiful county that we live in!
