Visit Sacrewell

Explore food, farming and the beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside on a visit to Sacrewell.

We have plenty to keep everyone entertained, with animals to meet, outdoor spaces to discover and a fully restored eighteenth century watermill. As part of The William Scott Abbott Trust, we’d like to invite you to discover Sacrewell – a destination like no other.

Outdoor adventures

We are big fans of natural play here at Sacrewell, so look out for invitations for children to explore and have fun as you move around the site. Imaginative play in the outdoors is so important for children’s wellbeing. We believe they can learn so much about their own abilities as well as about the natural world.

Follow the trail around Sacrewell and you will come across our bramble tunnel in the natural play area and willow dome by the Mill Pond.

Sacrewell is the perfect spot for a bit of exploration and den building, enabling children and adults alike to have fun. Nature provides plenty of natural materials engaging the imagination of all ages.

Award-winning natural play

Head down the path and follow the signs to discover the water play area with its natural stepping-stones crossing back and forth over the picturesque mill stream.

Nature, play and learning have gone hand in hand since the dawn of time. So watch as your children delight in dipping their fingers in the water and set leaves and twigs to float in the gently flowing stream, or hunt for bugs and butterflies amid the grass and wildflowers.

Opened in 2019, this outstanding play area was awarded the title Best Play Area in England in RoSPA’s Play Value Awards.

Adventure play area

Sacrewell’s fantastic new adventure play area is three-times bigger than the previous one. It features a wide range of elements, from wooden tractors to elevated walkways. All designed to fuel children’s imagination and get them active. Hours of fun are guaranteed!

The activities available here promote outdoor skills, messy play and physical exercise – perfect for burning off excess energy!

The outdoor adventure play area has been a big hit with children since it first opened in autumn 2020. We are delighted to offer children from babies to 12-year-olds the chance to enjoy hours of fun. Our farmyard-themed playground has over 30 different pieces of high-quality equipment.

It has been designed to offer children all sorts of different ways to explore, climb and discover – and generally run wild! – on safe, colourful structures that spark their imaginations.

At the heart of this multi-sensory playground is our wish to educate and ignite children’s curiosity about life on a farm. There is a decorative farmyard theme throughout, with yellow flowers and bees dotted around, a giant cheese, a wooden tractor, and even a cow design on the side of a wooden slide.

It mirrors the agricultural surroundings and helps enhances the children’s experience at Sacrewell. Helping to set in place memories of a fun-filled day.

Little ones will adore traditional swings, gentle slides and mini trampolines, all set on spongy artificial grass and colourful surfaces.

Older children will enjoy playing alone or with new friends on more challenging elements. Including the amazing centrepiece which combines a modern climbing frame with an elevated rope tunnel, suspended wooden plank walkways and fun tunnel slides.

Expect to spend time in and around the large sandpit as youngsters use the diggers and buckets provided to move and shape the sand. Maybe even recreating scenes they’ve seen at Sacrewell.

Children must be supervised while they play and explore the adventure play area. Ensuring they stick to the most appropriate apparatus for their age group.

Pooh Sticks

Generations of children (and grown-ups too) have enjoyed playing Pooh sticks and Sacrewell is the perfect place for a bit of old-fashioned fun.

Down the hill, past the mill, you’ll discover the rushing and winding mill stream. As well as a bridge that’s an ideal place for Pooh sticks.

The game was invented by A.A. Milne in his classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories and Christopher Robin in House at Pooh Corner, and it’s still a popular past-time on bridges and streams everywhere. If you’ve never played the game before, you’ll find a copy of the official rules on display at the bridge.

Play barn

If the weather takes a turn for the worse, the Playbarn is a great place for children to let off some steam. They may also be able to collect eggs in the Chicken Coop, race their friends down the mud slide or take a ride on a tractor or two.

Children must be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all times.

Tractor rides

Bump around Sacrewell’s fields on a tractor ride to get a new perspective on our agricultural heritage and learn the story of food from field to fork.

Our tenant farmers, Riverford Organic Farmers, are always out in the fields planting, growing and harvesting their delicious fruit and vegetables. From spring greens, Brussels sprouts and onions to barley, apples and pears, there’s something growing all year round.

Your tractor driver will take you on a 20-minute tour. Tractor rides can be booked at reception and run at set times throughout the day. They cost just £2.00 per person and are subject to availability. Wheelchair access is also available.

Walks

Take a walk on the wild side and discover the beautiful Cambridgeshire farmland that inspired local poet John Clare (1793-1864) to write “I found the poems in the fields and only wrote them down.”

The one and three-mile ramble routes explore the land leased to Riverford Organic Farms, following permissive footpaths with the agreement of the land manager and Natural England.

There’s no admission charge for the ramble routes and well-behaved dogs are welcome to join you on a lead. Ask for maps of the route at reception.

Did you know the long-distance walking route, the Hereward Way path, runs through the farm?