Pushchair Friendly Walks in Northumberland (With Loos and Cafes)
Flat loops, loos you can find and cafes that are open on the day you turn up. Ten walks in Northumberland, checked against the owners' own pages.
The short answer
Bolam Lake, near Morpeth, has a fully accessible path around the lakeshore, with a cafe and toilets by the car park. Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberlandia in Cramlington and Hauxley nature reserve are also good with pushchairs, and Hauxley is the quietest. Check the cafe days before you go, as several close on Mondays.
Checked 7 October 2026. Dates and prices change, so the organiser's link is the one to trust.
A good pram friendly walk in Northumberland has three things: a surface your wheels can cope with, a loo within reach, and a cafe that is open on the day you turn up. That last one is the trap. Several of the places below shut their cafes on Mondays, and one shuts its loos for the winter. So this guide gives you the surface, the toilets, the parking and the opening days for each walk, all checked against the owner's own page this week.
One honest note first. Councils and charities say 'accessible' far more often than they say 'pushchair friendly', and a three-wheeler with big tyres will cope with things a folding umbrella buggy will not. Where an official page spells out the path, I say so. Where it does not, I say that too, and tell you what to check before you load the car.
Pram friendly walks in Northumberland: the quick picks
For a flat loop with a cafe and loos at the start, go to Bolam Lake or Ladyburn Lake at Druridge Bay. For a walk that feels like an outing and costs nothing to enter, try Northumberlandia. For a quiet one with level, wide paths and a proper cafe, Hauxley is the lesser-known winner. The rest of this page is the detail, and a few warnings.
- Flat lakeside loop, cafe and loos by the car park: Bolam Lake, near Morpeth.
- Lake, play park, beach and cafe in one place: Druridge Bay Country Park.
- Free to enter, walk round a giant landform: Northumberlandia, Cramlington.
- Level wide paths and a straw-bale visitor centre: Hauxley, on Druridge Bay.
- Free car park and a riverside park in a market town: Tyne Green, Hexham.
The bigger names first
Bolam Lake Country Park
The council's own page says there is a fully accessible path around the lakeshore, which is the sentence you want to see. The lake sits about nine miles west of Morpeth, signposted off the A696 from Belsay, and the cafe and toilets are in the Boathouse Wood car park on the north side of the lake. Start there and the hard part (a hungry six year old and a loo) is solved before you leave the car.
There is a bird hide overlooking the lake, built after a suggestion from the Friends of Bolam Lake group, plus swans, waterfowl and, if you are patient and your children are not, red squirrels and roe deer. The cafe is closed on Mondays (bank holidays excepted from April to September) and on Tuesdays, so a Monday walk here is a packed lunch walk. Gates close at sunset, and the car park is locked, so do not do the 'just five more minutes' thing near dusk.
- Price
- Entry free. Parking: first hour free, up to 2 hours £3, over 2 hours £5. Free for Blue Badge holders.
- Parking
- Three car parks, open 9.30am until sunset. Cafe and toilets are in Boathouse Wood car park.
- Toilets/buggies
- Toilets next to the visitor centre, open daily 9.30am to 5pm, with a radar key disabled toilet. Fully accessible path around the lakeshore.
- Check first
- Cafe October to March: Wednesday to Friday 10am to 3pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 3.30pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. Postcode NE20 0HE.
Druridge Bay Country Park and Ladyburn Lake
This is the one to pick when the children want a lake, a playground and the beach, and you want all three without buying a second parking ticket. The park has a large freshwater lake, woodland, meadows, three miles of beach and dunes, a play park, a cafe, a visitor centre and public toilets. The council says many of the paths around the lake are accessible for people of all abilities, which is the official way of saying 'try it with the pushchair, but look at the path first'.
The visitor centre and cafe sit at the south eastern edge of Ladyburn Lake, next to the main car park, so you can walk round the lake and finish at a table. There is a free pumpkin trail until Sunday 1 November (collect a sheet from the cafe), and pumpkin carving on 29, 30 and 31 October at £4 per child, which must be booked by email in advance.
- Price
- Entry free. Parking: first hour free, up to 2 hours £3, over 2 hours £5. Free for Blue Badge holders.
- Parking
- Three car parks; the largest is by the visitor centre at the end of the access road.
- Toilets/buggies
- Public toilets and information area open 9am to 5pm. Many paths accessible to all abilities, so check the one you plan to take.
- Check first
- Cafe in summer hours until 31 October: Monday to Friday 10am to 4.30pm, Saturday 9am to 4.30pm, Sunday 10am to 4.30pm. Winter hours start in November. Postcode NE61 5BX.
Northumberlandia
A landform shaped like a reclining woman, 100 feet high and a quarter of a mile long, made from earth moved from the neighbouring mine. It is free to enter, and open from dawn to dusk. The Land Trust says the approach from the car park into the park, to see the sculpture at ground level, is fully accessible, and that the four miles of paths are largely surfaced. The woodland trail has bark chip sections with an uneven surface, though the site describes it as generally accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
There are two things to know. First, there is no children's play area, so you are the entertainment. Second, when the site is not staffed you may need a radar key to get a wheelchair through the kissing gate at the entrance, so ring ahead if that applies to you. Dogs are welcome if well controlled, and cycling is not allowed on the site.
- Price
- Entry free. Suggested parking donation £2.
- Parking
- Ample on site. Largely compacted stone, some uneven areas. Four Blue Badge bays.
- Toilets/buggies
- Two accessible toilets behind the cafe, open when the cafe is open. Ramp access to the visitor centre and cafe.
- Check first
- Cafe open daily 10am to 4pm, food stops at 3.15pm. No play area. Postcode NE23 8AU.
Plessey Woods Country Park
Known locally as Bluebell Woods, with 100 acres of woodland, meadow and riverside on the River Blyth. The visitor centre and cafe are at the entrance, with a children's play area and picnic area next to the cafe, and toilets (including a disabled toilet) next door. That cluster by the entrance is easy going. The council page does not describe the woodland paths or say whether they suit pushchairs, and woodland paths in October after rain are a roll of the dice, so keep to the paths nearest the centre unless you have a sturdy buggy and a sense of adventure.
The cafe is closed on Mondays, and in the October to March months it shuts at 3pm on weekdays and 3.30pm at weekends. Read that twice before planning a late lunch.
- Price
- Entry free. Parking: first hour free, up to 2 hours £3, over 2 hours £5. Free for Blue Badge holders.
- Parking
- Main entrance car park by the visitor centre.
- Toilets/buggies
- Public and disabled toilets next to the visitor centre, open in daylight hours. Woodland path surfaces are not described, so check.
- Check first
- Cafe October to March: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 3pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 3.30pm, closed Monday. Postcode NE22 6HZ.
Kielder Lakeside Way, from Kielder Waterside or Tower Knowe
The Lakeside Way follows the 26 mile shoreline of Kielder Water and is a multi-user trail used by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users, so you do not need to walk 26 miles with a pushchair (nobody is asking that of you). Pick a short out and back from a visitor hub. Kielder Waterside is open all year round and has toilets, a Hide cafe, a Forest Bar and Kitchen, an outdoor children's play area and an indoor soft play. Tower Knowe, near the dam, is a visitor centre open from April to October, with toilets and a cafe open 11am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Two cautions from Kielder's own site. It is a working forest, so trails can close for tree felling, and the north shore has no services between Kielder Village and Hawkhope near the dam, about 11 miles on the Lakeside Way. And swimming in the reservoir is strictly forbidden, so keep toddlers and splashy spaniels away from the edge.
- Price
- Check the Kielder site for current parking charges and activity prices.
- Parking
- Park in designated visitor car parks only.
- Toilets/buggies
- Toilets and disabled access at Kielder Waterside and Tower Knowe. The trail is used by wheelchair users; check the surface for your pushchair.
- Check first
- Tower Knowe is seasonal, April to October. Trail closures for forestry work are listed on the Kielder site. Kielder Waterside postcode NE48 1BT.
The lesser-known pram friendly walks
Here is where I stop being polite about the famous places. They are lovely, they are also where everyone else is going on a Saturday. These five are quieter, and each is checked against an official page.
Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre and Nature Reserve
Northumberland Wildlife Trust says there is an accessible car park, most paths are level and wide, and entrances are ramped or level, with an accessible toilet on site. The visitor centre is a straw bale building right by the beach with views along Druridge Bay, and the Lookout Cafe does soup, toasties and scones baked fresh daily. It is open every day, which already beats most of the places above.
One rule catches families out. No dogs are allowed on the reserve or at the centre, other than assistance dogs, though you can walk a dog along the path to the beach. There is a wildlife rubbing disc trail for children through the woodland next to the centre, with trail materials from the cafe for a small charge. Do not follow a sat nav into Low Hauxley, as the access road is shared with a caravan park.
- Price
- No entry charge. Parking: cars £2.
- Parking
- Accessible car park, locked at 5pm. Small, so no coaches.
- Toilets/buggies
- Accessible toilet on site. Most paths level and wide.
- Check first
- Open daily 9am to 5pm. Lookout Cafe 10am to 4.30pm, hot food stops at 3.30pm. No dogs except assistance dogs.
Queen Elizabeth II Country Park
A 16 hectare lake in a country park built on land that was once one of the biggest colliery spoil heaps in Europe, which is the sort of fact that makes you look at the trees differently. The council says tarmac paths and cut grass paths on the eastern side of the park allow good access around the lake, and there are accessible fishing platforms by the water. The park is on the north edge of Ashington, with the main car park off the A189.
It is an unglamorous, useful walk, which is exactly what you want when the children have been in the car for forty minutes. The council page does not list a cafe or a play area, so bring your own snacks. Swimming by individuals is not encouraged.
- Price
- Entry free. Check the car park for any charge.
- Parking
- Main car park off the A189.
- Toilets/buggies
- Tarmac paths and cut grass paths on the eastern side give good access round the lake. No toilets or cafe are listed on the council page.
- Check first
- Take food and drink. Postcode NE63 9AT.
Tyne Green Country Park
A riverside park on the south bank of the Tyne, on the road into Hexham, and given to the town in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee. The car park is free, there are public toilets on site, a recently redesigned children's play area in the middle of the park, and Cafe Enna at Tynedale Golf Club is open to the public. The council page does not describe the surfaces of the paths, though the park is laid out with public walks between avenues of trees, so a flat stroll is the likely shape of the day. Check the path you plan to take.
Be careful by the water. The Tyne here is wide, fast and in places deep, throw lines and lifebelts are placed along the bank, and the council asks people not to walk on the weir.
- Price
- Entry free. Car park free.
- Parking
- Free car park at Tyne Green. Keep to the marked areas, not the green.
- Toilets/buggies
- Public toilets on site. Path surfaces not described, so check.
- Check first
- Cafe Enna at Tynedale Golf Club for food. Keep children back from the river and weir. Postcode NE46 3HR.
Carlisle Park
A multi-award winning park in the middle of Morpeth, free to enter, with formal gardens, a small aviary, one of the few remaining working paddling pools in the North East, a toddler only play area, and a floral clock that is one of just four working floral clocks in the country. The play areas by the river suit children up to 13, which is useful when your party is aged between two and ten.
Two warnings. The toilets are open daily 10am to 6pm only from 1 April to 31 October, and close for winter. And the way up Ha' Hill, the 11th century motte and bailey, is by steps, so that one is for the legs, not the wheels. The paddling pool is a summer treat, open from the second bank holiday in May until the end of the school summer holidays.
- Price
- Entry free.
- Parking
- Newmarket Car Park is mentioned on the council page for the tennis courts and bowls greens. Check charges in Morpeth before you go.
- Toilets/buggies
- Toilets open daily 10am to 6pm, 1 April to 31 October, closed in winter. The steps up Ha' Hill are not suitable for a pushchair.
- Check first
- Paddling pool is summer only. William Turner Garden hours: 8am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, 8am to 6pm Friday to Sunday, or dusk if earlier.
Astley Park
A community park laid out in the 1920s on land owned by the Hastings family of Seaton Delaval Hall, with a restored pavilion, play areas (including a climbing wall and a zip wire), gardens, a community garden, and paths and seating for relaxing walks. Public toilets with disabled facilities are in the pavilion, open during attendant hours and when the building is in use.
The warning is parking. There is no car parking in the park, and the streets around it are residential with limited spaces, so this is a walk to do on foot, or by bus from the stops on the surrounding streets. The council page does not describe path surfaces, so check before you set off.
- Price
- Entry free.
- Parking
- No car parking in the park. Limited on-street spaces in residential streets nearby.
- Toilets/buggies
- Toilets with disabled facilities in the pavilion, during attendant hours and when the building is in use.
- Check first
- Open 8.30am to dusk daily. Path surfaces not described. Postcode NE25 0AE.
Walks to skip with a pushchair
Bedlington Country Park is described by the council as a steep sloping, natural wooded valley, which tells you most of what you need to know. It has a children's play area and picnic benches at Humford Mill, but this is a walk for a baby carrier, not a pram. Hexham's Tyne Green and Morpeth's Carlisle Park are the flatter options in the same part of the county.
Rain, mud and the rest
A few practical rules. Check the cafe days before you set off, because Mondays are a bad day for a lot of these. Take a rain cover and a bag for muddy wheels. Remember the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, and several of these car parks lock at dusk, which arrives surprisingly early once the evenings draw in. If the weather turns, see our guide to rainy days.
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Questions people ask
Is Bolam Lake pram friendly?
Yes. Northumberland County Council says there is a fully accessible path around the lakeshore. The cafe and toilets are in the Boathouse Wood car park, and the first hour of parking is free.
Is Northumberlandia pushchair friendly?
Mostly. The approach to view the sculpture at ground level is fully accessible and the paths are largely surfaced, though the woodland trail has some uneven bark chip sections. Entry is free, with a suggested £2 parking donation.
Is Plessey Woods pushchair friendly?
The council page does not describe the paths, so check before you go. The visitor centre, cafe, play area and toilets are all together at the entrance. The cafe is closed on Mondays.
Is Kielder pram friendly?
The Lakeside Way is a multi-user trail that wheelchair users also use, so short out and back sections are realistic. Kielder Waterside has toilets, cafes and play areas, and trails can close for forestry work.
Which pram friendly walks in Northumberland have free parking?
Tyne Green in Hexham has a free car park. Bolam Lake, Druridge Bay and Plessey Woods give the first hour free, then charge £3 up to 2 hours and £5 beyond that. Northumberlandia asks for a suggested £2 donation.
Can I take my dog on a pram friendly walk in Northumberland?
At Northumberlandia, well controlled dogs are welcome. At Hauxley nature reserve and its centre, only assistance dogs are allowed, though you can walk a dog along the path to the beach.
Which pram friendly walks have toilets and a cafe?
Bolam Lake, Druridge Bay, Plessey Woods, Northumberlandia and Hauxley all have a cafe and toilets on site. Cafe days differ by place and season, so check each page before you set off.
Sources and further reading
Facts checked against 14 pages on Wednesday 7 October 2026. Opening times and prices change, so confirm with the venue.
Show the sources
- Bolam Lake Country Park, Northumberland County Council
- Druridge Bay Country Park and Cafe, Northumberland County Council
- Plessey Woods Country Park, Northumberland County Council
- Tyne Green Country Park, Northumberland County Council
- Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, Northumberland County Council
- Bedlington Country Park, Northumberland County Council
- Carlisle Park, Northumberland County Council
- Astley Park, Northumberland County Council
- Northumberlandia, The Land Trust
- Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, Northumberland Wildlife Trust
- Walking at Kielder, Visit Kielder
- Kielder Waterside, Visit Kielder
- Tower Knowe, Visit Kielder
- Plan your visit, Visit Kielder
