13 things to do at Daventry Country Park

Open water swimming

We offer open water swimming at Daventry during the summer months. Working with Northamptonshire Sport, Rugby Triathlon Club and Daventry Dolphins, open water swim sessions are available on Sunday mornings from April to October.

Find out more information and book open water swimming on the Northamptonshire Sport website.

Swimming is not permitted outside of the scheduled swimming sessions. Anyone found swimming outside of the sessions will be required to leave the site.

Non-powered water sports

We have a limited number of permits available for those wishing to use the reservoir for non-powered water sports during the summer months. Non-powered water sports include paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking and model boating.

Permits cost £15. To apply please email [email protected] with the subject header "Non-powered watersports" and you will be sent a link to apply if there are permits available. Permits start in April (weather dependent) and applications are on a first come, first served basis.

Adventure playground

Daventry Country Park has an exciting adventure playground, with something for all ages. There is a castle-themed fort with slides, a net bridge, a climbing wall, a variety of swings, a spring-mounted jeep ride, a smaller fort for toddlers, and a zip wire among other items of equipment.

Designed for children of all abilities, the play area features a range of inclusive activities, including a glockenspiel play panel and talk tubes, a basket swing, and swings with inclusive seats with harnesses for children who have a limited ability to hold themselves upright.

Picnic areas

There are several designated picnic areas and benches throughout the park, positioned to provide rest areas in peaceful locations or affording relaxing views of the park.

Please take all your litter home with you and protect our park and wildlife.

Circular and nature trails

Stroll along one of the parks three circular trails including the 2.5 mile Reservoir Walk, 1.5 mile Meadow Walk and 1 mile Woodland Walk. The new woodland walk has 20 markers featuring etching plaques depicting a range of different animals and insects.

Bring a piece of paper and some crayons or a pencil to complete your etchings and see how many you can find. Routes are marked around the park and on the information maps available at the park entrance and outside the Raisborough Centre.

There is also a nature trail created with help from pupils at Falconers Hill School and volunteers from Cummins which features six information boards dotted around the park.

Fishing

Find out more about fishing at Daventry Country Park.

Orienteering

Orienteering is a fun outdoor sport which involves finding the quickest route between control points using a special map to navigate.

Participants must exercise their brain as well as their body to complete the course.

The courses, which have been designed by the Octavian Droobers Orienteering Club, include a 1.1km easy course and a 2.6km medium course. The Octavian Droobers Orienteering Club organises events in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.

Maps cost £1 and are available from the cafe during opening hours or you can download an orienteering map for the park from Go Orienteering.

Fitness equipment

A fitness trail is available in Northern Field consisting of eight pieces of gym equipment. The cardiovascular equipment includes a rowing machine, leg press, cross-rider, air walker, skier, cycle, body twist and horse rider. It is available for anyone to use for free (subject to age and specified restrictions). 

Feed the ducks

The Park is home to many ducks and greedy geese who are always looking for some extra food from visitors. Packets of seed can be purchased from the Reservoir Cafe. Please ensure you dispose the packaging responsibly and do not litter the park or put wildlife at risk.

Watch the wildlife

Visitors can enjoy the parks wildlife at several quiet locations around the park, including a dedicated bird hide with disabled access. The park often sees many different specifies of wildlife passing through so you never know who you might see.

Walk the dog

The Park is a popular location for dogs to take their owners for a brisk stroll. We ask all owners that any dog faeces should be picked up using a poop scoop bag and disposed of in one of the dog bin's located around the park. Please keep dogs under close control at all times within the park and on leads outside the Raisborough centre and café area.

Please also be aware that sheep sometimes graze in the meadows at the Park as part of our ongoing conservation programme. The meadows provide fantastic grazing for the sheep, and allowing them to graze helps to improve the biodiversity of this area.

Please can we ask all dog walkers to ensure their dogs are on leads and under control while sheep are in the meadows, and that all park users make sure they shut gates behind them. Find out more advice from the National Sheep Association here.

Community sensory garden

The Daventry and District Disability Forum, along with a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, helped to develop the community sensory garden for all visitors to enjoy, incorporating a variety of plants and flowers to awaken the senses and an area of calm for reflection.

Additional funding was awarded from the Tesco Bags of Help grant to revive the garden further and install improved planting, hedging and a new bug hotel to develop our educational activities.

Try geocaching

Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache anywhere in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. To learn more and start, visit the Geocaching website.

The cache sites are spread throughout the Park, some are easy finds close to pathways, while others are more of a challenge! Geocaching is a great way to enjoy the park and visit areas you may not have visited before.

Last updated 19 September 2023