Creswell Crags for families
Creswell Crags on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border offers prehistoric hippos, fossilised hyena dung and the most northerly Ice Age cave art in the world.
Why visit Creswell Crags
Creswell Crags is a limestone gorge on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border. It’s a picturesque beauty spot, with the central dam flanked by the gorge walls, but it is also dotted with caves. These caves are historically important, too, as animal bones from around 120,000 years ago have been found in them. Back in those days, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses roamed the area.
The major finds come from the Ice Age, however. The caves are believed to be home to the most northern Ice Age rock art in the world. This, essentially, was as far north as humans could live while hunting reindeer.
This mix of natural beauty and cultural importance makes Creswell Crags a really underrated spot – and possibly a future World Heritage site.
Visiting Creswell Crags with children
The museum section feels a little underpowered, albeit relatively new. It is full of artefacts found within the caves, whether hyena droppings, the jaw of an Arctic fox or the leg bone of a wolf.
Luckily for children, there are several interactive exhibits. The sand pit with an overhead projection creating various scenes and landscapes is very popular, as is the mock-up archaeological dig site where children can use spades and brushes in search of (fake) animal bones.
Outside, the trails to the gorge are lined by wooden sculptures of the animals that once lived here – from rhinos to lemmings.
You soon emerge at the dam – which makes for a tremendous photo – and can let the kids run along the riverside paths. Most of the bigger caves are gated off, but children will still find smaller nooks, crannies and holes they want to explore among the craggy walls that look like they could be made of Lego bricks.
Creswell Crags review: The best bit
A series of tours are available at Creswell Crags, with the Life In The Ice Age tour being the standard offering that runs most days. This tour heads inside Robin Hood Cave, and shows off how the people of the Ice Age would have made and used tools.
Everyone gets a helmet and torch, and there are plenty of stories of where lions would hang out and a bear skeleton was found.
Infants, juniors or secondary?
The tours are for over fives only, and they’re probably a bit dry for infant age children. The interactive parts of the museum are usually a hit with younger children. But juniors who have learned a bit about the Ice Age at school are most likely to be interested.
Creswell Crags entry prices
The museum section of Creswell Crags is free for children and costs £3 for adults. The Life in the Ice Age cave tour costs £15 for adults and £10 for children. Parking costs £4 for three hours, £6 for longer.
Prices were last checked and updated on 12 November 2024.
Full day, half day or a couple of hours?
When you combine the tour, the museum and exploring the gorge and woodlands under your own steam, you can get a good half day out of Creswell Crags.
Attractions near Creswell Crags
Other attractions near Creswell Crags, which can easily be visited on the same day, include:
- Clumber Park in Worksop.
- Gulliver’s Valley in Rotherham
- Sundown Adventureland near Retford
- Bolsover Castle in Bolsover
Nearby cities
Creswell Crags is on the Derbyshire – Nottinghamshire border (and near the South Yorkshire border) in the village of Creswell. It’s in a rough triangle between Mansfield, Worksop and Chesterfield.
Cities within a 90 minute drive of Clumber Park include Sheffield, Doncaster, Nottingham, Derby, Hull, York, Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Peterborough, Lincoln, Leicester, Coventry, Birmingham and Stoke on Trent.
Is it open on Mondays?
Creswell Crags is open daily for most of the year, but only on weekends and during school holidays in the winter. You can walk through the gorge from the village year-round, however.
More information
For more information, visit the Creswell Crags website.
