Kirtlington Quarry │Review

I have been told over and over again that we should check out Kirtlington Quarry, Oxfordshire. Last weekend, we had a free day so decided to give it a shot. Once a working quarry, it is now a Nature Reserve which you can wander round for free. There’s no car park at Kirtlington Quarry but there’s plenty of easy parking down Mill Lane in Kirtlington, which is where we left our car. There are a couple of lay-bys right next to gateways which take you into the reserve.  

Although there is no children’s play area there are plenty of pathways to walk around, and the children easily made their own fun. I wouldn’t say the quarry is particularly pushchair or wheelchair friendly though! It’s pretty bumpy, and muddy, and some routes have a LOT of steps. One route does lead you to a narrow path right next to the canal too, so just be careful with young children and probably best not to let them run too far ahead. Our favourite areas, as always, were the paths that ran through some slightly wooded areas. I love woodland and the children really enjoy exploring. 

Play in the woods

When you enter the reserve there’s a large flat area (I’m assuming the bottom of the old quarry) which the kids loved running around. I think we’ll probably come back in the summer with a picnic and a football to make use of the space.

Kirtlington Quarry
Like I said earlier, it was very muddy, so you’ll need to take your wellies and waterproofs unless its been a very dry period. Not that our wellies helped much, the enthusiastic puddle jumping just meant that the water sloshed over the top of their boots. 

Muddy puddles
We had a great time, and certainly blew out some cobwebs, but as always there are some negatives. There was so much dog poo around, it was unbelievable. There were also, as my earlier statement might suggest, a lot of dogs, some off the lead. My daughter doesn’t like dogs at all so caused a few complications for us but it was ok.

If you’re a fan of geocaching  there is a geocache at the quarry.  Due to the number of trees in the area the map was struggling on my phone making it a little tricky to find, but we got there eventually.  

Geocache
As Kirtlington Quarry is pretty close to our home we will definitely be back. I’ve been told that there’s usually bluebells so I’m sure we’ll head back at the right time to see those. 

Kirtlington Quarry



Comments

  1. Thanks - I came across your review while investigating picnic options. We will have to visit.

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    Replies
    1. Hope you have a good time if you do visit! Enjoy.

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