Brockholes walk for all the family

This Brockholes walk is one of our favourite pram-friendly walks in Lancashire. It’s a fantastic place for walking with kids. Many of the paths are accessible, there are two fantastic play areas and they often have family orienteering and other activities too. This is a walk at Brockholes Preston that is perfect for all the family.

Where is Brockholes Nature Reserve?

Brockholes Nature Reserve is a former quarry turned into a nature reserve of over 250 acres. It is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. There are lots of trails, hides, a floating visitors centre and play areas for kids.

Brockholes is just of the M6 at junction 31 and is well signposted.

Brockholes Nature Reserve parking

There is no admission fee to Brockholes Nature Reserve but parking is £5 all day. The reserve gets no government funding and costs £2000 to open every day. There is plenty of space for parking.

If you are a regular visitor, you can get a visitor pass to cover parking which could be cheaper if you visit frequently. Find out more here.

Are dogs allowed at Brockholes Preston?

Dogs are not allowed at Brockholes since it is a nature reserve. This is to protect the grazing animals, nesting birds and reptiles. The guild wheel path passes through Brockholes so dogs are allowed on this path but they must not stray into the reserve. Assistance dogs are permitted.

Is Brockholes Preston pram-friendly?

Yes, there are plenty of paths that are all flat and suitable for prams. We have visited a couple of times and some of the paths do get puddles on them or a bit muddy but they are still very practical for pushchairs.

Walks at Brockholes Preston

You can find a map of the 4 different length trails on their website here. They have a short one of jst 3/4 mile which is mostly around the large play area. It is the Kestrel trail as this is the area where you are most likely to see kestrels.

There is also a 1 mile family trail that takes in a bit more of the nature reserve, including the highest point so you can get in a good view of the site. Again this route includes the adventure play area.

Meadow lake trail is 1.2 miles long and takes you around Meadow lake (including through woodland). This route doesn’t include the play area but it is only a short walk from the car park so you could definitely add in the play area at the beginning or end. It takes you around the largest lake which has a floating visitors centre. It is suitable for prams.

The final trail is 3 miles long and covers most of the reserve. This is the discovery trail. Parts of this trail are some of the quietest on the nature reserve so they probably have the highest chance of spotting wildlife.

It’s worth noting that there aren’t any specific signs showing you the different trails but you can pick up a map at the visitors centre or find it on the website which shows you all the paths.

We have visited a couple of times. Most recently we did the Halloween Xplorer trail which followed the Meadow lake trail and then we did the 1 mile family trail on top to explore more of the reserve. There is some lovely Wind in the Willow sculptures on the family trail and some small, woodland areas to detour into.

These are mostly themed with a few sculptures based on the theme in that area. They include a Gruffalo area and Viking wood as well as a couple of others. Some of the sculptures are a little weather-worn but still lovely.

Kids activities at Brockholes

The play area is really quite big and spread out of a fair amount of space. There is something for all ages. Nearest the car park, there are more suitable for younger kids and there is a larger slide and a few other bits built into the hillside behind, not far from a dedicated den building area in the woods.

You’ll find regular family events running at Brockholes. We’ve done their family xplorer trails a couple of times and they are great fun. There are usually 2 options, 1 for younger children that is on all pram-friendly paths and 1 for older children that are slightly more challenging. My kids love finding the laminated pictures (last time they were Halloween-themed characters that we had to find) so they can complete their spotter’s sheet and get a sticker, certificate and a treat at the end.

They also run weekday nature tot sessions, Christmas events and all sorts of other events. It’s always worth having a look at their events page, especially during the school holidays.

Find more great play areas in Lancashire here – Best parks in Lancashire.

The floating visitors centre at Brockholes

The floating visitors centre is the first of its kind in the UK. It has a visitors centre with information about the reserve and the wildlife you might spot. There is also a cafe and a restaurant. The cafe is open 10 am – 4 pm every day for takeaways and the restaurant is open at weekends and school holidays. You can also get delicious Cheshire Farm ice cream and sorbet. There are also toilet and baby changing facilities here.

Find more great family days out North West here.

Ad – My walking with kids essentials

These are walking kit for kids that we love. All links are affiliate links

More local family walks

Find all the best family walks North West here. Better yet, join my Facebook group where you can ask for walk ideas and share your own walks with 100s of other families here in the North West.