England Guide
The East Midlands
Rufford Abbey Country Park
Opening time: Daily dawn– dusk; main facilities daily 10.30am–5pm
Price: Free, but weekend car parking fee £3
Address: Beside the A614, 18 miles north of Nottingham (hourly Stagecoach bus #33)
Website: www.ruffordceramiccentre.org.uk
Council-run country parks may be ten-a-penny, but Rufford Abbey Country Park shows just how things should be done. The remains of the original twelfth-century Cistercian abbey and the country house built in its stead – but largely demolished in 1956 – are neither very substantial nor especially interesting, but the old buildings are all pleasantly maintained and the former stable block now holds a café, a much better-than-average craft shop and a first-rate ceramics gallery. At the back of the stables are the gardens, both informal and formal, and an outstanding Sculpture Garden, which manages to be both accessible and contemporary with sculptures such as the eerily lifelike, concrete Man and Sheep on a Bench. Further afield is a lake and a mill, a bird sanctuary and a wetland area, all reachable via footpaths.
Read more ▼
- Practical Information ▼
- Sight(s) ▼