Ryton Pools Country Park Reviews Summary

Park Facilities

Pros:

• "A great bit of Nature on your doorstep."
• "All in good condition and well maintained."
• "The play areas are also outstanding. They are well thought out and have things for small children and bigger children too."
• "Wonderful place for everyone."
• "The park is kept immaculate. Plenty of facilities toulets, cafe, shop and 2 parks."
• "Easy disabled access with loads of accessible paths for scooters, wheelchairs & pushchairs."
• "Lovely country park which played host to a walk in aid of the MND Association."

Cons:

• "Only thing is, it could do with the pathways having some new gravel put down, very sparse in parts, leaves you walking through sheer mud."
• "The furthest part of the lake if you enter by the main car park, has no fence and could be a bit dangerous for children as they could fall to the lake."
• "They have no picnic benches in that area because of covid 19. The visitor centre was closed."
• "The playground was tired looking and the ground was so uneven with lumps and bumps, the kids kept falling over."
• "The walk was OK but in need of some tidying, the signs are shabby and typical of the County Council laziness."
• "The terrain is a little rugged in places but easily navigated."
• "Shame about the dog poo. But that is more on the owner, not the park itself."

Cafe and Food Options

Pros:

• "Really nice cafe for teas, coffees etc and really lovely cakes....staff are great too."
• "The café served the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted and at a reasonable price as well."
• "Great cafe serving a good range of light food and very good coffee."
• "The cafe has a good selection of freshly made sandwiches and hot food and drinks."
• "Really friendly staff in the cafe, we had ice creams which were delicious."
• "The food and drinks are good quality. Excellent veggie sausage sandwiches!"
• "The cafe is spot on with its selection of food and beverages and very reasonably priced."

Cons:

• "Did think though that cost of a regular 'cup' of coffee, a cappuccino was a bit on the pricey side as it was £3.80."
• "Cafe expensive so picnic good idea if going for a few hours."
• "The coffee from the guest center is absolutely terrible and the pricing is aimed at making you pay a little more than you intend to."
• "Parking and cafe were expensive."
• "Lovely park but the cafe food was expensive and not up to much."
• "Cafe prices are a little expensive, seems to be the norm now in family friendly parks unfortunately."
• "The cafe is well overpriced. £1.30 for a packet of golden wonder crisps, food i feel is just average, nothing stands out that would make me eat there again."

Parking

Pros:

• "Loads of parking about £4 for 4 hours."
• "Plenty of parking spread across the grounds."
• "The parking was affordable."
• "Has several car parks all with contactless pay and display."
• "Take £3 for car park too. That's for all day parking."
• "Cheap parking you pay for the day."
• "Parking charges are £3.50 but that's for the whole day."

Cons:

• "Only gripe is the parking cost, but it's understandable because they have to make money somewhere."
• "It is a nice place, but wow what a rip off 3.30 for parking an hour."
• "Nice place to go for a walk but the parking is only one price for all day and it's not large enough to spend the day there."
• "Parking was jam packed so had to go all the way to the third car park from the exit."
• "The park is beautiful. But the parking is way too expensive. £3.5 for 24h, but it doesn't mean 24h but only until 23.59."
• "Main gripe is the parking is quite expensive for short stays."
• "£3.50 for parking is quite frankly extortionate."