Photo: mick alto4 (CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Northamptonshire
The best holidays are planned around great days out. Here's what's on the doorstep in Northamptonshire, from big-ticket attractions to rainy-day savers.
🎟️ This weekend near Northamptonshire
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 10:00
The Shoosmith Gallery Presents: 'Echoes Across Borders'
Delapre Abbey, Northampton · 1.8 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Rugby Audio Tour: Art, Heritage & Heartbeats Trail
Rugby Theatre Society, Rugby · 17.4 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Northampton Audio Tour: From Castles to Cultural
Northampton Castle, Northampton · 0.8 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Banbury Audio Tour: Hidden Gems and Stories of Calthorpe's H...
Hunt Edmunds, Banbury · 22.5 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Attractions & Visitor Centres
29 mi from Northamptonshire
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a historic attraction in Warwick, Warwickshire, offering over 1,100 years of history through live shows, exhibitions and themed experiences. Visitors can watch th...
Museums & Galleries
0.8 mi from Northamptonshire
Museum of Leathercraft
The Leathercraft Collection at Northampton Museums and Art Gallery brings together around 10,000 objects made from leather, celebrating inspirational design from across the world....
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1 mi from Northamptonshire
Central Museum
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is a public museum in Northampton, England. The museum is owned and run by West Northamptonshire Council and houses one of the largest collection... — Wikipedia
1.1 mi from Northamptonshire
78 Derngate: The Charles Rennie Mackintosh House
78 Derngate is a Grade II* listed Georgian house in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, originally built in 1815. Its interior was extensively remodelled in 1916 and 1917... — Wikipedia
1.4 mi from Northamptonshire
Abington Park Museum
Stately home, now museum, in Abington Park, Northampton, England, UK
5.6 mi from Northamptonshire
Piddington Roman Villa museum
Piddington Roman Villa Museum, run by the Upper Nene Archaeological Society, displays finds from the ongoing excavation of a Roman villa, along with evidence of Iron Age settlement...
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6 mi from Northamptonshire
Sywell Aviation Museum
Sywell Aviation Museum is based at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire, England. It is sited in the aircraft viewing car park at the aerodrome. It documents the history of flying... — Wikipedia
7.5 mi from Northamptonshire
The Canal Museum
The Canal Museum, formerly known as the National Waterways Museum at Stoke Bruerne and The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, is a canal museum located next to the Grand Union Canal ju... — Wikipedia
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9 mi from Northamptonshire
Towcester Museum
Towcester Museum sits in White Horse Yard just off Watling Street, in the heart of Towcester, West Northamptonshire. Inside you'll find exhibitions covering thousands of years of l...
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9.6 mi from Northamptonshire
Wellingborough Museum
Museum in Wellingborough, England, United Kingdom
9.8 mi from Northamptonshire
Irchester Railway Museum
Irchester Railway Museum sits within Irchester Country Park in North Northamptonshire and is run by The Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Trust, a registered charity. You'll find a co...
10.7 mi from Northamptonshire
Harrington Aviation Museum
Harrington Aviation Museum sits on the former WW2 airfield at Harrington in Northamptonshire, housed within part of the hardened group operations building on the administration sit...
10.8 mi from Northamptonshire
Cowper and Newton Museum
The Cowper & Newton Museum occupies the house in Olney's Market Place where poet William Cowper once lived, three years after John Newton arrived in the town as curate. Inside, you...
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12.5 mi from Northamptonshire
Manor House Museum
Manor House Museum sits within the Kettering Gallery, Library and Manor House Museum and Gardens site in Kettering Town, North Northamptonshire, and is promoted by North Northampto...
12.9 mi from Northamptonshire
Rushden Hall and Museum
Rushden Museum, set in the Old Stable Block within Hall Avenue, tells the story of the town's past, from its boot and shoe manufacturing heritage to its wider cultural history. Ins...
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13.1 mi from Northamptonshire
Rushden Historical Transport Society
Rushden Historical Transport Society is a heritage railway and museum based in the Old Midland Railway Station of 1894, in Rushden, North Northamptonshire. You can explore a transp...
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13.2 mi from Northamptonshire
Silverstone Interactive Museum
Silverstone Museum sits at the iconic Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, where you can explore immersive exhibits, legendary racing cars and the stories of the drivers who sh...
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13.8 mi from Northamptonshire
Desborough Heritage Centre
Museum in Desborough, England, United Kingdom
14 mi from Northamptonshire
Milton Keynes Museum
Milton Keynes Museum tells the stories that shaped Milton Keynes, with interactive displays and a changing events programme including the Kerala exhibition and an after-hours Legen...
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14.7 mi from Northamptonshire
Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre
Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre is based at Bradwell Abbey, the site and remains of a medieval Benedictine Priory, with a rare standing pilgrimage chapel featuring stunning con...
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15.4 mi from Northamptonshire
Brickz
Brickz is a museum in Central Milton Keynes dedicated entirely to LEGO®, home to over five million bricks. Inside, you'll find large, unique displays created by a community of buil...
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Theme Parks
6.8 mi from Northamptonshire
Go Ape Salcey Forest
Go Ape Salcey Forest is a treetop adventure park set in an ancient Northamptonshire woodland, offering high ropes courses and zip wires for families. Younger children can try the e...
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12.2 mi from Northamptonshire
Wicksteed Park
Wicksteed Park is a free-to-enter, Grade II listed urban park in Barton Seagrave, North Northamptonshire, founded in 1921 and run by a charitable trust. Over 25 rides sit within 28...
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15.5 mi from Northamptonshire
Gulliver's Land
Gulliver's Land is a theme park resort in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, designed for children aged 2-13. You'll find rides in Western World and the JCB Zone, plus a Dinosaur and Fa...
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24.5 mi from Northamptonshire
Go Ape Coventry
Go Ape Coventry sits within Coombe Abbey Park, offering seven outdoor experiences including the original Treetop Challenge high ropes with zip wires and a Tarzan Swing, plus the ge...
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Water Parks
15.7 mi from Northamptonshire
Splash ‘n’ Play
Splash 'n' Play is an outdoor splash park at Willen Lake in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, with over 60 water features including a super splash bucket, water tunnel, sail boat, wate...
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28 mi from Northamptonshire
The Wave
The Wave is an indoor waterpark in the heart of Coventry, built around six slides such as The Crestar, The Cascade and The Rapids, alongside a Wave Pool, Lazy River and The Reef sp...
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Zoos & Wildlife
21.7 mi from Northamptonshire
Woburn Safari Park
Woburn Safari Park is a wild animal park set across 360 acres, home to hundreds of exotic and endangered species. You drive your own vehicle through the Road Safari, passing rhino,...
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26.4 mi from Northamptonshire
Knotts of Tempsford
Knotts of Tempsford is a family-run working farm in the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford, where you can meet animals ranging from pygmy goats and micro pigs to llamas and leopard...
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26.6 mi from Northamptonshire
Hamerton Zoo Park
Hamerton Zoo Park is a zoo and wildlife attraction in Hamerton and Steeple Gidding, Huntingdonshire, marking 35 years of conservation, education and family fun. There's always some...
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28.2 mi from Northamptonshire
Waddesdon Aviary
Architectural structure in Waddesdon, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
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Where to stay near Northamptonshire
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Northamptonshire
Haunted Britain
Northamptonshire sits in that useful spot where several counties meet, which means a day out here can be a canal museum in the morning and a falconry display or a hands-on play barn in the afternoon. There are 153 places to stay on BritStays across the region, so it also works well as a base for poking about in the surrounding counties. Here's how to put a day together without spending all of it in the car.
Best for families
If you're travelling with children, Northamptonshire is generous. Wicksteed Park is the obvious anchor for a full day — a theme park with enough variety to keep a mixed-age group going. Gulliver's Land is the other big-hitter if you want rides aimed squarely at younger children, and Kidsplay Activity Land and Gambado are the ones to keep in reserve for soft-play energy-burning, especially with under-eights.
Brickz suits brick-obsessed children (and the adults who quietly enjoy it too), while Eco Park gives you a more outdoorsy take on a day out. Just over the county edge, Rutland Falconry & Owl Centre is worth the trip for a flying display — birds of prey tend to hold the attention of children who've declared themselves bored of everything else.
Best for a rainy day
Northamptonshire weather being what it is, it's worth having an indoor option sketched out before you set off. A few reliable choices:
- The Canal Museum — the natural starting point for understanding why the waterways matter so much around here.
- Cowper and Newton Museum — small, characterful and good for an hour or two of proper quiet interest.
- Bletchley Park and The National Museum of Computing — both in Buckinghamshire, both substantial, and genuinely a full day if you do them together.
- Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery — a solid wet-weather stop if you're heading east.
- Buckinghamshire County Museum, Moot Hall and Rushden Hall and Museum — smaller museums that pair well with something else.
For canal enthusiasts, the Foxton Inclined Plane Trust Museum over in Leicestershire makes an excellent companion piece to The Canal Museum.
Best for outdoors and water
Water is a theme in this part of England. Anglian Water and Peterborough Wake Park in Cambridgeshire give you open water for the active sort, and The Wave in Warwickshire is the indoor-ish splash option when the forecast turns. Closer to home, canal towpaths give you flat, straightforward walking, which is a gift if you've got pushchairs, tired legs or a dog along.
Best for heritage
Canons Ashby House is a National Trust property and a good half-day in its own right, with house and grounds to work through at a gentle pace. Castle Ashby House is the other grand name to know. For something odder and more memorable, the Triangular Lodge is a genuine curiosity — small, strange and well worth the detour. Bury Mount is a quick stop rather than a day, and Captain Cook's Monument, the region's other National Trust entry, rewards anyone who likes their history out in the open air.
How to group them into a sensible day
The trick is one big thing plus one small thing. Some combinations that work:
- Canal day: The Canal Museum in the morning, a towpath walk after lunch, Foxton Inclined Plane Trust Museum if you've still got appetite for it.
- Heritage day: Canons Ashby House for the bulk of the day, Triangular Lodge or Bury Mount tacked on afterwards.
- Family day: Wicksteed Park or Gulliver's Land all day — don't try to add anything else.
- Wet-weather rescue: Brickz or Kidsplay Activity Land in the morning, a museum in the afternoon once everyone's calmer.
- Codebreaking day: Bletchley Park and The National Museum of Computing together, with an early start.
Where to eat
Most of the larger attractions — the theme parks, the National Trust properties, the bigger museums — have cafés on site, and on a busy day that's usually the sensible choice rather than driving off and losing an hour. Smaller museums may have little or nothing, so check before you arrive and pack something if you're unsure. Village pubs near the canal are the pleasant option for an unhurried lunch, though many stop serving food mid-afternoon, so aim to sit down before two.
Turning it into a short break
Two or three nights lets you spread things out properly: one heritage day, one family or outdoors day, and one day using the region as a springboard into Buckinghamshire, Rutland or Cambridgeshire. With 153 stays on BritStays across Northamptonshire, it's worth choosing your base around the day you most want to do well — somewhere near the canal if that's your interest, somewhere closer to the theme parks if you've got children counting down.
Practical notes
Book theme park tickets ahead where you can, and check opening days for the smaller museums in particular — several keep limited hours and some close out of season entirely. Falconry displays run to a timetable rather than all day, so ring or check online before setting out. Allow more time than you think at Bletchley Park. Take waterproofs for anything involving towpaths or open water, and keep one indoor option in your back pocket for every outdoor day you plan.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best things to do in Northamptonshire with children?
Wicksteed Park is the main theme park for a full family day, with Gulliver's Land a good choice for younger children. For indoor play, try Kidsplay Activity Land, Gambado or Brickz. Eco Park offers a more outdoorsy family option, and Rutland Falconry & Owl Centre in nearby Rutland is good for a flying display.
What can I do in Northamptonshire if it rains?
The Canal Museum and the Cowper and Newton Museum are both indoors and in Northamptonshire. Indoor play venues such as Brickz, Kidsplay Activity Land and Gambado work well with children. Further afield you could try Bletchley Park, The National Museum of Computing or Buckinghamshire County Museum in Buckinghamshire, Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery in Cambridgeshire, or The Wave in Warwickshire.
Are there National Trust places to visit in the region?
Yes, two: Canons Ashby House and Captain Cook's Monument. Canons Ashby House has a house and grounds and makes a good half-day, while Captain Cook's Monument suits anyone who prefers their history outdoors.
What heritage sites are worth seeing in Northamptonshire?
Castle Ashby House and the Triangular Lodge are both notable heritage sites, and Bury Mount is a quick stop rather than a full visit. Canons Ashby House is the National Trust property to build a day around.
Where can I find water activities near Northamptonshire?
Anglian Water and Peterborough Wake Park are both in Cambridgeshire, and The Wave is in Warwickshire. Closer to home, canal towpaths give easy, flat walking beside the water.
Is Northamptonshire a good base for a short break?
Yes. There are 153 places to stay on BritStays in the region, and its position means you can reach attractions in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Warwickshire and Cambridgeshire on day trips. Two or three nights lets you fit in a heritage day, a family day and one day exploring over the county border.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Northamptonshire.