Stanwick Lakes Nature Reserve and Heritage Site

If you’re local to Wellingborough and haven’t taken the kids to Stanwick Lakes yet, you’re missing a proper day out. The play area is genuinely good for toddlers and little ones — sand, water, slides, the works — and it keeps them busy long enough for you to actually sit down and breathe. Grab one of the picnic tables or find a shaded bench near the lake and you’ve basically got the whole afternoon sorted. The walking paths around the water are flat and easy, so pushchairs aren’t a problem, and the open grass gives bigger kids room to run riot. Pack the BBQ gear if you want to make a full day of it — there’s parking, there’s space, and the birdlife on the lakes is a bonus you didn’t know you needed.