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itineraries

Suggested Itineraries for Day Trips and Staycations Including Creswell Crags

The Northern East Midlands and South Yorkshire borders offers so many wonderful experiences you’ll want to stop a while and take them all in. We’ve put together a collection of fascinating destinations to complement your visit to Creswell Crags.

Prehistoric Experience

Creswell Crags is undoubtedly the essential starting point for a prehistoric tour of the region. We've been welcoming visitors for 50,000 years and boast the only Ice Age Cave Art in the UK.

Within an hours drive are the Nine Ladies and Arbour Low. These Derbyshire Peak District sites offer a fascinating insight into early societies.

Arbour Low is a neolithic henge monument. It is one of the best preserved stone circles in the UK.

Nearby, Nine Ladies is a Bronze Age stone circle which is a popular venue for Pagan worship.

Nine Ladies
Lees Road, Stanton in the Peak, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 2LS
Arbor Low
Long Rake, Monyash, Derbyshire, DE45 1JS
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Art Lovers Experience

The only Ice Age cave art in the UK can be found at Creswell Crags. Some suggest that this makes our site the countries oldest art gallery.

The region is also well served with important collections from a variety of time periods. Our neighbours at the Harley Gallery (and Portland Collection) exhibit their nationally important collection as well as a series of exciting touring exhibitions.

Other galleries in the region include the Nottingham Contemporary (nominated for museum of the year 2019), Greaves Gallery, Nottingham Castle and Derby Museum.

Harley Gallery
Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3LW
Nottingham Contemporary
Weekday Cross, Nottingham, NG1 2GB
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Food Lovers Itinerary

Our Crags Edge Cafe uses only the finest local ingredients. Why not make our cafe part of a fabulous food focussed fantasy weekend?

Visit the Welbeck Farm Shop and buy some of the excellent local produce. Fresh bread from the Welbeck Bakehouse, Ham cured on the estate and don't miss their Stichelton Cheese. Wash it all down with local beer from the Welbeck Brewery.

A short drive away is Haughton Park Farm, the home of Thaymar Ice Cream and if you are visiting the region don't forget to make time to discover Bakewell Pudding in the Peak District.

Welbeck Farm Shop
Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3LW
Thaymar Ice Cream
Haughton Park Farm, Bothamsall, Retford, Notts, DN22 8DB
Crags Edge Cafe
Creswell Crags, Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Cave Dweller's Experience

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are renowned for their caves and caverns. Nottingham is a city built upon a labyrinth of man made caves carved into the sandstone below and used for centuries as homes, storage, traders and finally air raid shelters. Derbyshire is known for its mines and caverns. Blue John is a rare precious stone which is only found in Castleton, Derbyshire. This village is rich in its variety of caverns including the Speedwell whose chambers are explored by boat.

Only Creswell offers a pre-historical experience with the only Ice Age Cave Art in the UK and evidence of occupation over 50,000 years.

City of Caves
Garner's Hill, High Pavement, Nottingham, NG1 1HF
Speedwell Cavern
Winnats Pass, Castleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 8WA
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Strange & Superstitious Experience

This region is noted for a famous outlaw from Sherwood Forest but fact is often stranger than legend. For those who like their history grusome and strange our region is rich in posibility.

At Southwell the Workhouse offers a glimpse of how the poor were sometimes treated in Victorian Britain. Whilst the plague village of Eyam tells the story of sacrifice, as a small community sought to contain the spread of the disease. At Creswell you will discover the largest assemlage of ritual protective 'Witch Marks' in the UK. These marks were created over 400 years and rooted in a period of superstition and fear.

Southwell Workhouse
The Workhouse, Upton Road, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG25 0PT
Eyam Plague Village & Museum
Hawkhill Road, Eyam, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S32 5QP
Witch Marks at Creswell Crags
Creswell Crags, Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Walking, Trekking & Cycling Experience

Creswell's limestone gorge is a beautiful place to begin your exploration of the countryside in this region. Cycle paths and bridleways link us to woodland and heathland of Sherwood Forest and Clumber Park.

Download the Archaeological Way App and discover a trail through thousands of years of history and 11 miles of spectacular countryside.

Sherwood Pines and Clumber Park also offer cycle hire and routes designed for all ages and abilities. The Peak District is within easy driving distance and offers treks and cycle routes through the National Park.

Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, NG21 9RN
Clumber Park
Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3AZ
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Museums & Galleries Experience

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire offer some truly unique museum experiences. At Creswell Crags our museum displays items discovered at the gorge. Some of the most important pieces found their way to the British Museum and Natural History Museum and have now been loaned back to us.

The region offers a wide range of museum experiences including the National Tramway Museum, National Civil War Centre, National Justice Museum and National Holocaust Centre & Museum. Whatever the weather our region has the perfect destination for exploration and discovery.

Crich Tramway Village
Crich, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5DP
National Civil War Centre
14 Appleton Gate, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, N24 1JY
Creswell Crags Museum
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Adventure Activities Experience

Don't just sit there, do something! Our region has so much to offer active families and individuals. Why not take a cave tour and discover a world of fire and flint in Ice Age Britain.

Alternatively you can explore the crags on horseback or by carriage with rides offered by our friends and neighbours at Coloured Cob.

Amen Corner Karting near Rufford Park offer two tracks for beginners and experienced drivers to hone their skills, whilst nearby Go Ape at Sherwood Pines is ideal for the Tarzan and Jane in your life.

Coloured Cob
Bank House Farm, Mansfield Rd, Creswell, Derbyshire, S80 4AA
Amen Corner Karting
Edwinstowe Road, Rufford, Nottinghamshire, NG22 9DB
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Great Estates Experience

This region is famous for its great houses. Creswell Crags is located on the Welbeck Estate which is the ancestral home of the Duke of Portland. It forms part of the Dukaries, celebrated for its stately homes and titled aristocracy.

Many will be familiar with Chatsworth in Derbyshire but there are an abundance of glorious estates to choose from in the region. Neaby you will find Hardwick Hall, Bolsover Castle, Renishaw Hall, Clumber Park, Rufford Abbey and Hodsock Priory whilst further afield, Wentworth Woodhouse and Haddon Hall are well worth exploring.

Hardwick Hall & Estate
Doe Lea, Chesterfield, S44 5QJ
Clumber Park
Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3AZ
Welbeck Estate
Creswell Crags, Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Limestone Gorge Experience

Creswell Crags forms part of a geological feature which can be seen at various points along its spine.

In this region we share the geological feature with Pleasley Vale where the River Meden provided a water power source for the mill.

Further north the feature returns to puntuate the surface and provide a stunning backdrop to Roche Abbey. This beautiful ruin is managed by English Heritage.

Both sites offer complimentary experiences to the Ice Age caves at Creswell.

Pleasley Mills
Outgang Lane, Pleasley Vale, Mansfield, NG19 2FB
Roche Abbey
Maltby, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S66 8NW
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH

Family Fun Experience

If you are looking for fun then you've come to the right region. Where else can you discover the home of the Ice Age Hunter and Robin Hood. Sherwood Forest is surrounded by a number of family friendly attractions including Creswell Crags, Rufford Park, Clumber Park and Sherwood Pines.

We also have a perfect Elizabethan castle on our doorstep at Bolsover which is ideal for any outlaw in training to attempt to conquer.

At Creswell Crags our own Robin Hood Cave offers cave tours and evidence of creatures and humans from the Ice Age. Not to be missed!

Go Ape
Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, NG21 9JH
Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre
Sherwood Forest, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, NG21 9RN
Creswell Crags

Wildlife & Nature Experience

Did you know that Creswell Crags is also protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSi)? The magnesium limestone gorge is an important geological feature which attracts a variety of rare plants and species.

In addition to our unique environment we are surrounded by other special sites with the Peak District and Sherwood Forest within easy reach by car. A number of local attractions promote opportunities to see rare breeds or fauna including the glorious display of bluebells each year at Hodsock Priory and the variety of species at the Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife & Falconry Centre.

Hodsock Priory Bluebells
Blyth, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S81 0TY
Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre
Woodsetts Road, North Anston, Sheffield, S25 4EQ
Creswell Crags
Crags Rd, Welbeck, Worksop, Notts, S80 3LH