💷 Free entry
Crickley Hill Country Park
143-acre Cotswold escarpment country park near Cheltenham with panoramic views, an Iron Age hillfort, wildflower grassland and waymarked family walks.
✦ We visited
The views from the scarp edge are genuinely spectacular on a clear day. Children found the hillfort earthworks easy to engage with and the grassland paths are good for letting younger ones run. A solid free day out with an easy drive from Cheltenham or Gloucester.
Crickley Hill sits on the Cotswold escarpment above the Severn Vale, managed jointly by the National Trust and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The site covers 143 acres of limestone grassland, ancient woodland and open scarp above Cheltenham, with views stretching west to the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains on a clear day.
The headline feature for families is the Iron Age hillfort, one of the best-preserved in Gloucestershire, which has been excavated and interpreted on site. Children respond well to the earthworks and ditches, which are still clearly visible in the landscape. Waymarked walks wind through wildflower grassland with interpretation about the plants and wildlife; the flat-topped scarp is accessible with a buggy on the main path, though the rougher woodland tracks are pushchair-unfriendly.
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust runs Nature Tots sessions on the first Thursday of each month from 10am to 11:30am for under-5s, and the site hosts various family events through the year; check the National Trust website for the current programme. The parking fee is the only cost involved.
Good for: outdoors, sensory, history. Ages: 0–2, 3–4, 5–7, 8–11, 12+.
Good to know
Is Crickley Hill free to visit?
Entry to the country park is free; there is a parking charge of around £2.50, payable by card, phone or app, though charges can change so it is worth checking the National Trust website before you go.
Are there activities for young children at Crickley Hill?
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust runs Nature Tots sessions for under-5s on the first Thursday of each month; check the website for current dates.
How far is Crickley Hill from Cheltenham?
It is about four miles from central Cheltenham, roughly a ten-minute drive, via the A417.
