Days Out Near Reigate With Children, Checked October 2026

For a day out with children near Reigate, most families start on their doorstep: Reigate Hill and Box Hill cost only the parking. For a paid day, the two big farm parks are Godstone Farm and Bocketts Farm, and Priory Farm’s Discovery Land at South Nutfield is the cheaper woodland trail. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own website on 28 October 2026.

We have not visited these places for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: prices, opening days, what there is for children and the house rules. Several places change their hours or close for a few weeks in November, so the winter pattern is given where the venue lists it. Prices and hours change, and school holidays get busy, so check before you set off.

Free, or just the parking

Reigate Hill and Gatton Park (National Trust), Reigate

The National Trust’s land on the North Downs above the town is, in its own words, “a spectacular escarpment with sweeping views across the Weald”, with chalk grassland, woods and “a lovely spot for family picnics and games”. At the top is the 19th-century Reigate Fort, which the Trust says “commands a historic defensive position looking out over the weald towards the South Downs”. Entry is free and open every day. The Trust’s Margery Wood car park charges £2 for up to an hour, £4 for two hours, £6 for four and £9 all day, paid by machine or the JustPark app (location 80624); there is no phone signal, so set the app up first. Toilets and a servery are at the Wray Lane car park, which the Trust notes is not its own. Dogs are welcome, on a short lead near grazing animals. Address: Wray Lane, Reigate RH2 0HX. National Trust page.

Box Hill (National Trust), near Dorking

Box Hill, about 15 minutes’ drive west, is the Trust’s best-known Surrey hill: “panoramic views and outstanding ancient woodland”. For children the draw is the natural play trail, which the Trust describes as “a fun, easy 2-mile (3km) woodland walk” on “a level, all-weather path packed with natural play challenges”. The countryside is open dawn to dusk every day. The cafe, which has high chairs, opens daily from 10am (to 4pm from 2 November), and the grab-and-go servery from 8am; toilets are next to the cafe and open when it is. Parking is £2 for an hour, £4 for two, £6 for four and £9 all day, members free, and again there is no phone signal. The stepping stones over the River Mole are at the foot of the hill. Address: The Old Fort, Box Hill Road, Tadworth KT20 7LB. National Trust page.

Gatton Park (Gatton Trust), Reigate

Below the National Trust land, the Gatton Trust opens the historic heart of Gatton Park, “a beautiful historic parkland designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown with Edwardian gardens”, on the first Sunday of each month from February to December, noon to 5pm. The park is a private estate owned by the Royal Alexandra and Albert School and is not open outside open days and booked activities. Open-day entry is £7 for adults online (£9 on the day), and children go free, though some special events are charged. Dogs on leads are welcome and Gatton Hall sells refreshments. The next open day is the Autumn Open Day and Trail Walk on Sunday 1 November. The Trust also runs bookable children’s sessions, such as its Trails and Tales story mornings, on some weekdays. Address: Gatton Park, Reigate RH2 0TW.

Farms and animals

Godstone Farm, Godstone

Godstone Farm, on Tilburstow Hill Road (RH9 8LX), promises “free-range family fun, rain or shine”, with animals, outdoor adventure play, a dinosaur trail and an indoor play barn it calls “Surrey’s biggest soft play”. It is open every day from 10am to 4.45pm, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Off-peak prices booked online are £16.95 for anyone aged 2 and over and £8.50 for a one-year-old, or £18.95 and £10.50 on the day; peak (school holidays and bank holidays) is £19.95 and £9.95 online. Under-ones are free, and there is a £2 booking fee per transaction. On selected term-time weekdays there are cheaper after-school sessions with entry from 3.30pm. Christmas has its own pricing, with Father Christmas visits. Food hygiene rating: 5, given on 30 July 2025. Prices and opening times.

Bocketts Farm, Fetcham

Bocketts Farm Park on Young Street, Fetcham, near Leatherhead (KT22 9BS), says it is “open 7 days a week, all year round from 10am to 5pm, come rain or shine”, with animals, farm activities and indoor play barns. Its prices page gives off-peak tickets of £17.50 for children aged 3 to 17, £15.50 for 2-year-olds, £5.50 for 1-year-olds and £16.50 for adults (standard £21.50, £18.50, £7.50 and £19.50), plus a £1 online booking fee; under-ones are free. Its calendar marks November weekdays as a separate winter weekday rate and weekends as off-peak. From 2 November to 15 December, term-time weekday visitors arriving after 2.30pm pay £7.50 (£3 for a one-year-old). Tractor rides are £2 extra and pony rides £3.50. Food hygiene rating: 5, given on 3 March 2026.

British Wildlife Centre, Newchapel

The British Wildlife Centre on Eastbourne Road, Newchapel, near Lingfield (RH7 6LF), calls itself “the finest collection of native wildlife in Britain”: over 40 species “from tiny harvest mice to magnificent red deer”, with half-hourly keeper talks. It opens only at weekends, bank holidays and during state school holidays, from 10am to 4pm between November and February. Its next holiday opening after half term is 19 December to 3 January (closed 24 to 26 December). Winter prices booked online are £9 for a child aged 3 to 15, £16 for an adult and £13.50 for over-65s, £1.50 more on the door; under-3s are free. Online booking closes at 10am on the day. Pip’s Halloween trail for children runs until 31 October, free with a ticket. Prices.

Priory Farm Discovery Land, South Nutfield

Priory Farm, near Redhill (RH1 4EJ), runs Discovery Land, a waymarked “family nature trail” across 40 acres of woodland, meadow and lakeside, with a treehouse, a Giant’s Chair, a fairy city and play features that it says are not suitable for children under two. It holds the Muddy Stilettos 2024 award for best family attraction in Surrey. The Halloween trail is open daily until 1 November, 9am to 4.30pm, at £12 online. Discovery Land then closes from 2 to 21 November, and its Winter Trail, a 12-stop Christmas song trail, runs daily from 21 November to 4 January (closed 25 and 26 December and 1 January), from £8 off-peak and £10 peak online plus a 50p booking fee. Under-2s are free and parking is free. There is a cafe on site.

Houses, gardens and museums

Polesden Lacey (National Trust), Great Bookham

Polesden Lacey, near Dorking (RH5 6BD), is an Edwardian house with gardens and a wider estate. Only the ground floor of the house is open in 2026. Admission is £18 for adults and £9 for children aged 5 to 17, or £45 for a family of two adults and up to three children; under-5s are free and there is no need to book. Non-members pay £5 to park all day. From 2 November the garden, cafe and coffee shop stay open daily from 10am to 4pm, but the house closes until 21 November, when it reopens daily for Christmas. Hot food is served in the cafe from noon to 3pm; there is baby changing in both toilet blocks. Dogs on leads are welcome in selected areas; a dog-walking map is at reception. National Trust page.

Wakehurst, Ardingly

Kew’s garden in the High Weald, about 35 minutes south at Ardingly (RH17 6TN), has 500 acres of “wild botanic landscape”, a mansion and the Millennium Seed Bank. Its tickets page gives £18.50 for adults and £4 for children aged 5 to 16; under-5s are free, as are National Trust members (who pay to park; ticket holders park free). Visitors arriving by bus, bike or on foot pay £9.25 with proof of travel. The gardens are open 10am to 4.30pm, last entry 4pm, but close at 3pm on Glow Wild evenings: 26 to 29 November, 1 to 6 December, 9 to 24 December and 27 December to 1 January. The Seeds Cafe in the visitor centre is open 10am to 4.30pm.

RHS Garden Wisley, near Woking

RHS Wisley (GU23 6QB), about 30 minutes by the M25, is open daily except 25 and 26 December. Its garden page lists winter hours of 10am to 4.30pm on weekdays and 9am to 4.30pm at weekends. Children aged 5 to 16 pay £6; under-5s are free. Adults pay from £15.20 for a “saver” ticket booked online, which covers weekends and weekdays from 9 November to 31 December, or £20.50 on the day. RHS members get in free with no booking. RHS Glow, the winter light event, runs from November to January.

Gatwick Aviation Museum, Charlwood

This volunteer-run charity museum on Lowfield Heath Road, Charlwood (RH6 0BT), shows “iconic aircraft and engines from the golden age of British aircraft manufacturing”, including an Avro Shackleton you can board on a tour and a Canberra nose section children can climb into, plus 30 acres of parkland with a viewing area over Gatwick Airport. Its visit page lists £13.50 for adults, £6.50 for children aged 6 to 12 and £36 for a family of two adults and two children; under-6s go free. Hours are 10am to 4pm, last entry 3pm, late in the week; its phone line is staffed Friday to Sunday, so check before a weekday trip. Parking is free, dogs on leads are welcome and the Galley Coffee Shop serves snacks. Ignore the old gatwick-aviation-museum.co.uk address: it no longer belongs to the museum.

Brooklands Museum, Weybridge

Brooklands Museum, on Brooklands Road, Weybridge (KT13 0SL), is the motor racing and aviation museum on the site of the 1907 race track, with Concorde among its exhibits. From Monday 2 November it moves to winter hours of 10am to 4pm, with off-peak prices booked online the day before of £10.15 for children aged 4 to 17 and £24.35 for adults (£10.65 and £25.70 on the day); under-4s are free. Peak prices of £10.70 and £25.70 apply until 1 November and on event days and school holidays. Online advance tickets close at midnight the night before. Tickets and prices.

Theme park

Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington

Chessington World of Adventures Resort (KT9 2NE), about 25 minutes up the A217 and A243, is a theme park, zoo and SEA LIFE aquarium; its new World of PAW Patrol land is open and a Minecraft World is due in 2027. Its main season runs from March to October. The Howl’o’ween event finishes on 1 November, and Christmas at Chessington, with a Christmas Village, Father Christmas’s grotto, a panto and selected rides, runs on selected dates from 21 November to 24 December. Day tickets start at £32 a person booked in advance. On 28 October the park posted that it had reached full capacity and was turning away anyone without a pre-booked ticket, including annual passholders who had not reserved, so book ahead in school holidays. Chessington website.

Not open at the moment

• Leith Hill Tower and Leith Hill Place are closed until spring 2027, according to the National Trust; the woods around them stay open.
• Reigate Caves open on only a handful of Saturdays a year, and the 2026 dates have passed. Check reigatecaves.org.uk for next year’s.
• Reigate Priory Museum remains closed until further notice, and the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill is shut while the building is rebuilt after RAAC was found.

How we chose

These are the days out families near Reigate search for most: the free hills on the doorstep, the farm parks, and the gardens, museums and theme park within about 40 minutes’ drive. Every price, opening day and age rule comes from the venue’s own website on 28 October 2026; the National Trust entries come from the Trust’s own place listings. Food hygiene ratings come from the Food Standards Agency. We left out places whose own website could not confirm they are open this winter. We have not visited any of them for this guide.

For more ideas, see things to do in Reigate, what’s on in Reigate this month, October half-term in Reigate, Gatton Park this winter, and our guides to soft play and rainy-day places, playgrounds and parks, walks near Reigate and Reigate cafes. Local businesses are in our Reigate business directory.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@reigatenews.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

What free days out are there near Reigate for children?

Reigate Hill and Gatton Park, the National Trust land on the escarpment above the town, is free to walk, with Reigate Fort at the top; parking at the Margery Wood car park costs from £2 for an hour. Box Hill near Dorking is also free, with a 2-mile natural play trail, and parking from £2 an hour. Children go free on Gatton Park’s monthly open days.

Which days out near Reigate are open on winter weekdays?

Godstone Farm, Bocketts Farm, Box Hill, Polesden Lacey’s garden, Wakehurst, RHS Wisley and Brooklands Museum open every day through the winter, apart from Christmas. The British Wildlife Centre opens only at weekends, bank holidays and school holidays. Gatton Park opens on the first Sunday of the month. Priory Farm’s Discovery Land closes from 2 to 21 November, then reopens daily for its Winter Trail.

Do under-5s go free?

At most of them, yes. Under-6s are free at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, under-5s at Polesden Lacey, Wakehurst and RHS Wisley, under-4s at Brooklands, under-3s at the British Wildlife Centre, and under-2s at Discovery Land. Godstone Farm charges from £8.50 for a one-year-old booked online, and Bocketts Farm from £5.50 off-peak.