NATURE
What wildlife
to see in Summer
Heritage
Learning from the past,
building for the future
Adventure
Where the adventure
lasts all day
CHARITY NO. 1050157
Visitor information :
Hours
Find Us
Parking
Accessibility
Contact
Visitor Opening times
Please see the table below for the current opening times.
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Date |
Site opening Times |
Visitor Centre Opening Times |
| January – March | 7am – 5pm | 10am – 4pm |
| April to September | 7am – 7pm | 10am – 5pm |
| October-December | 7am – 5pm | 10am – 4pm |
How to find us
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Stanwick Lakes is situated off the Stanwick roundabout on the A45 in East Northamptonshire between Wellingborough (eight miles away) and Thrapston (seven miles away).
The postcode for Sat Nav directions is NN9 6GY.
Parking and prices
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Thank you for paying to park!
Did you know that Stanwick Lakes is run by Rockingham Forest Trust, a local environmental charity?
Every time you pay the car park charges at Stanwick Lakes you are supporting the conservation and maintenance work that takes place on the site. This includes managing the nature reserve for wildlife, looking after the play equipment and maintaining miles of paths for walking and cycling.
Car Parking Charges 2023
Charging period |
Charges per car |
| 28th-31st March | Up to 2 hours £3.00 Up to 4 hours £4.50 |
| 1st April – 30th September | Variable charge: Up to 2 hours £3.30 Up to 4 hours £4.80 All day £6.30 |
| 1st Oct 31st December | Variable charge: Up to 2 hours £3.00 All day £4.50 |
| Membership | £42 per household per year |
Closed Christmas Day
Accessibility
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The majority of the site’s facilities are wheelchair accessible, including the visitor centre, toilets, feeding station and water’s edge bird hides, the network of footpaths and cycle paths, and areas within the central adventure playground. A lift is situated in the café area to allow disabled visitors to access the mezzanine area where the archaeological finds are kept, including the section of Roman floor mosaic.
Contact Us
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01933 625 522
info@rftrust.org.uk
Follow us on social media:
Stanwick Lakes is managed as a social enterprise by the environmental charity,
Rockingham Forest Trust. All Income from our visitors directly supports the cost of running the site, including conservation work and educational events.
Upcoming Events
Call of the Kingfisher: A Year by the River Nene – March 19
The Life & Book of Mrs Beeton – March 12
Glennis Hooper: She’s One Crazy Lady! – March 5
The Language of Flowers – February 13
What Makes A Good Story? – February 6
My Father’s Journey Through WW2 – January 30
Northamptonshire’s Victorian Inventors & Inventions – 23 January
The Art of Communication: A Hostage & Crisis Negotiator’s Perspective – 16 January
Railway, What Railway? – 9 January
The visitor centre, with café, shop and function space, hosts many events, family celebrations, business meetings and craft workshops throughout the year.
THINGS TO DO…
NATURE
Visit a birdhide
One of the best ways to take in all that a wetlands site has to offer is to stop off at several hides dotted around the reserve, and see what you can spot…
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HERITAGE
Go back in time!
Notice the stone marker posts, each carved with an historical era? These form part of our Heritage Trail and each of the six stones marks the site of an important historic settlement…
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ADVENTURE
Imaginative play
Get active and explore our adventure playground, assault course, adventure trail, dotted around the reserve, including water play and a zip line!
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acres of open space
miles of scenic paths
days of the year
LATEST NEWS
Wildlife Volunteer Team Round Up 2022
In the spring of 2022, we set up a new volunteer group– the Stanwick Lakes Wildlife Volunteer Team (WVT). The team meet up on the last Friday morning of the month to undertake tasks that help us to conserve the nature reserve at Stanwick Lakes, including monitoring...
Creating a Moment in History – Stanwick Lakes Heritage
Over the past 12 years, Stanwick Lakes have been fortunate enough to receive Heritage Lottery funding for a number of projects exploring the heritage and history of the site and surrounding valley. Carrying on from the successes of these legacy heritage projects, our new ambitious 3 year venture, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will delve into the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, exploring their monuments and settlements with one aim – to bring the past to life.
The Secret Lives of Harvest Mice at Stanwick Lakes – Mammal Society Survey findings.
This is a harvest mouse, the UK’s smallest mouse, and Stanwick Lakes is its home! Photo credit top left: Aidan Lesingham Because of habitat losses and changes in farming practices this mouse is believed to be in decline – in fact, they are classified as Near...
A Family Day Out: Pottery Painting at Stanwick Lakes
A Family Day Out: Pottery Painting at Stanwick Lakes 7 steps to painting pottery at Stanwick Lakes Looking for a fantastic family day out that blends creativity, relaxation, and nature? This Autumn, we have introduced pottery painting at the Visitor Centre Look no...
Unilever Volunteers Join Stanwick Lakes in Preserving Reed Bed Habitats
This week, the rangers were joined by a lovely team of volunteers from Unilever's Environmental Safety department at Colworth Park. Having previously worked directly on projects related to preventing and mitigating the pollution of waterways, the team was keen to help...
Stanwick Lakes to Unveil Changing Places Facilities: A Significant Move Towards Accessibility and Inclusivity
Stanwick Lakes, the picturesque nature reserve and countryside attraction park near Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, is proud to announce the imminent introduction of a Changing Places facilities, a vital addition to enhance accessibility for all visitors. Led by...
Big Bronze Age Boat Build – A Boat Builder’s Journey
The Big Bronze Age Boat Build has been a fascinating project so far, but how has it been for the volunteers involved...? Aidan Phillips tells us more My name is Aidan Phillips, having been born in Lincolnshire my parents eventually settled in Northants in the early...
Changes to Stanwick Lakes’ Natural Play Area!
Regular visitors will have noticed that we have bid farewell to a small part of our extensive natural play area. But fret not, we have plans to update it with something fresh and new in the near future. The piece that's coming down has been a beloved part of our play...
A Super Summer for Heritage Projects!
Summer has been busy here at Stanwick Lakes, with projects and events in full swing! We thoroughly enjoyed launching the Nene Valley Festival on it's opening weekend, which was a huge success despite the heatwave and the huge Sunday afternoon rain downpour! It has...
Embrace Wellness at Stanwick Lakes for Health & Wellbeing Week
Join us at Stanwick Lakes’ Health and Wellbeing Week for a unique blend of nature and wellness activities. Explore the serene landscapes, engage in physical and mental wellness pursuits, and discover the healing power of nature from September 18th to 24th.
The build is underway!
Wow, what an exciting two weekends we have had at Stanwick Lakes with the Big Bronze AGE Boat Build! Weekend 1 saw the launch of the boat build, with the volunteers being guided by Dr James Dilley. Logs were stripped of bark and the shaping of the logs started with...
Roundhouse Update – Mud, mud and more mud!
On Tuesday 30th May, the Heritage Team at Stanwick Lakes hosted a "Roundhouse Daub Day" - a chance for communities and the public to come and help our wonderful volunteers with daubing our new roundhouse. We were amazed at how many people joined us and got stuck in....
A unique setting, convenient location, and with ample facilities, you can make your event one to remember at Stanwick Lakes. Our flexible indoor and outdoor spaces and our experienced team, and specialist knowledge can help with you shape your event into something unique.
Every Visit Counts
The visitor centre, with café, shop and function spaces is ran as a social enterprise, which very much supports the charity, with all income. The setting for many events, family celebrations, business meetings and craft workshops throughout the year, we can cater for any event.
So there’s always enough going on to work up an appetite!