Rufford Country Park

It was a fine bank holiday Monday and we were ready for an outing as a family. Picnic packed and ready to go we went back to an old favourite. Rufford country park, but why there? Rufford Park is a large park in north Nottinghamshire. There is plenty to do there whether travelling as adults or with children. The first hurdle is to park. If you go on a normal weekend or weekday there is plenty of parking costing £1.50. If you go on a bank holiday when every one else is going get there early or else they may run out of spaces. The park attendants are very good at directing you to what spaces there are. When parked the first place my ...

Rufford Park was bought by the Nottinghamshire County Council in 1969 primarily as a country retreat for the residents of the City of Nottingham. Originally the park was the site of a Cistercian Abbey which was in existence between 1146 and 1536. When Henry VIII started dissolving the monasteries Rufford was one of the first to go as at that time there were very few monks present and the building was in a poor state of repair. Remains of the Abbey are still present and there is an exhibition depicting what life would have been like for the monks at that time. In 1536 the Earl of Shrewsbury took over the park and turned the Abbey into a private home. In ...