A Peaceful Woodland Wander at Weston Park, Staffordshire (Family-Friendly Walk)

Saturday 12th July 2025. We love a good family wander, especially when it’s one we weren’t expecting to squeeze in! Weston Park in Staffordshire was a lovely surprise – and the perfect spot for a gentle shaded walk on a sizzling summer morning.

We ended up here as the boys had a short birthday treat in the morning (the youngest turned 9 on Thursday), and with the sun already blazing at 23°C by 9:30am (nope, not a typo 🥵), we decided we’d make the most of being in such a beautiful place and go for a wander. And we’re so glad we did (not least because it was far too hot the rest of the weekend to walk or bike!!)

A Little About Weston Park

Weston Park is a grand country estate on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border, with 1,000 acres of beautiful parkland, woodlands, gardens and more. The main house is impressive, and the grounds are beautifully manicured too, making them the perfect backdrop for a family walk or a bike ride.

It’s open to the public for events and day visits (at a cost), and has a bit of everything: beautiful formal gardens, a massive children’s play area, a miniature railway, and even some family friendly walking routes too!

Cool Woodland Wander

We were pleasantly surprised to find four “Wellbeing Walks”, mapped out on the website (you can see if here), ranging from just 0.5 miles up to a decent 3-mile loop. With the temperature already climbing as we arrived, we opted for the 2-mile shaded “Lichfield Drive & Temple Wood Walk” – (the turquoise one).

It’s worth noting: the trails aren’t signposted as you go round (or at least this one certainly wasn’t), but there are plenty of clear paths and tracks weaving through the trees and around the ponds. It made the walk feel more like an adventure, and we enjoyed taking our time to explore and double-back to some particularly lovely spots.

What We Saw Along the Way

Early arrival meant we pretty much had the place to ourselves – no crowds, no noise, just birdsong, rustling trees, and the occasional splashes from the ducks and moorhens flapping about on the water.

The walk started near the main entrance and lead through the woodland past a lovely large wooden play park, filled with brilliant assorted play equipment for all ages. There was also the entrance to the miniature railway here too – although it wasn’t running today, possibly due to the heat. Still, a good excuse to return another time!

It is around here that we appeared to divert off the course of the route, as we walked across a pretty wooden bridge and around the top of Temple Pool instead.

There was in interesting urn before we crossed another ornate bridge, where we also found a second urn on the opposite side.

We headed right here, and enjoyed a peaceful 5 minutes overlooking the pond on this little bench, watching the ducks and moorhens and hundreds of butterflies and beautiful blue dragonflies.

From here we did the same loop again, to enjoy this side of Temple Pool too, before continuing onward on the planned route, and back across the ornate bridge, where I managed to finally capture a dragonfly with my phone camera!

We passed a couple of beautiful private residences and commented how wonderful it would be to live here on days like to today – but I should imagine it’s much less fun in the height of summer or when there are events – somehow I bet it’s much less peaceful!

As we approached the end of woodland we looked across the grounds to where the walk should continue, along the main road through the main park. But as we stepped out of the woodland and the sun beat on our heads, we decided instead to double back and find some more walks within the cool shade of the woodland instead. There was not a cloud in the sky and no shade to be seen, and having walked the main roadway before on a previous visit, we weren’t too disappointed to make a sensible detour!

As our child-free hour drew to a close, it was time to meet the boys by the cattle grid. We’d originally planned to head back out from where we came in – then I spotted this tunnel, and I wanted to investigate…

It was so cool under here (I mean literally – cold, not “cool”) – we probably should’ve just spent our hour down here 😂. It lead us under the bridge we’d previously walked over by the cattle grid, and straight toward the beautiful main house of Weston Park.

Would We Go Again?

Absolutely – but probably on a cooler day! ☀️ While we loved the shaded areas, we’re keen to come back and try the longer routes too – especially the 3-mile route that leads out towards the tower. I reckon that would make a brilliant walk when the sun isn’t trying it’s best to dry you 😅. The admission isn’t cheap for a family, so for the best bang for your buck, you will want to make a day of it here – which, with the right weather and a picnic, would be easily one! Along with the playground and the walks, you are free to enjoy the open space, have a picnic, bring a bike – and with 1,000 acres to explore, I’m pretty sure you won’t get bored too easily!

For a spontaneous walk, Weston Park offered so much more than we expected – peaceful, beautiful, and ideal for a relaxed family adventure.

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🗂️ Weston Park Walk Facts:

• Location: Weston Park, Staffordshire
• Length: Routes from 0.5 to 3 miles – but you’re also free to roam!
• Terrain: Woodland paths, parkland trails, mostly flat and pushchair friendly
• Family-friendly? Yes – playpark, miniature railway, easy trails and all walks we did have been suitable for pushchairs
• Toilets and café? Yes – near the main house
• Parking: On-site, free
• Admission: For grounds only – save 10% if you book online. (All correct as of August 2025)
  • Adult – £11.00
  • Senior (65+) – £10.00
  • Child (4-14) – £6.50
  • Family (2+3) – £37.00 (NOTE: Not ideal for 2+2 or less!)
  • House Admission + £7.50 (under 14’s go free)
  • Miniature Railway + £4.00 per person (I wasn’t aware of this charge until I pulled together the admission charges for the blog – thank goodness the boys didn’t see the train 😅)
    • There is an annual membership option too, which would probably be worth it if you’re very local and would visit often. There are lots of family membership options, which is nice for today’s different family dynamics, from 1A+2C, to 2A+3C – although oddly there is no 2A+2C option, and it would actually work out cheaper to buy a 1A+2C with a 1A membership! Consider that my top tip for any 2+2 families reading this 😂

Have you been to Weston Park? What was your favourite bit?

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