Day out at Knebworth House

How a day out at Knebworth House was a haven for both parents and kids. By Carol Muskoron

The last time I went to Knebworth, I went to see a rock concert. It rained all day, I rowed with my boyfriend and I drove home in tears. The following day we broke up. 

However, I decided to give it another try. I packed my husband, kids and a couple of bottles of juice into the car and headed off. This time everything was different: we had a great time.

Knebworth – as any rock fan will know – is a large private estate, stuck in the middle of Hertfordshire, a few miles from Stevenage. It's got a big house, a famous garden and around 250 acres of land. When it's not being used as a pop venue, it's open to the public. And it's a lot of fun.

One of the nice things about Knebworth is that it's very accessible from north London, where we live. Most of the big stately homes seem to be to the south or west of London, or in the Midlands. For us, this was only a 30-minute drive up the A1(M) and it's very easy to find.

The gardens are great for children and for adults. My husband, Jack, who is interested in architecture, was interested to see the formal gardens which were laid out by the great architect Lutyens. They were very beautiful gardens, with large yew hedges, pollarded limes and masses of roses.

My children loved the 'wilderness' area, because it was filled with around 70 lifesize dinosaurs. There were also some brilliant wood carvings, most of which have been done with a chainsaw. The children would be running through the woods and come across some improbable stegosaurus or a gigantic carved rabbit. Strange to relate: it's all very subtlly and tastefully done. And there were other surprises along the way – a table complete with trays of crayons and paper, where they could do a quick brass rubbing! 

The house itself is a sort of Gothic monstrosity, covered in griffins and dragons and other fabulous beasts. The main part is actually about 400 years old, but generations of the Lytton family have added to it, so most of what you see is Victorian. Incidentally, the house is still owned by the Lytton family and is used as a family home.

We had lunch at the main restaurant. The food was really fresh – far better than your average 'day out' cafeteria. Because there are large grounds most visitors take a picnic. We had the Sunday roast which was gorgeous (my kids loved the roast potatoes). 

One of the nice things about Knebworth is that once you are in the grounds, everything is free. They're not forever asking you to spend money on other attractions. The family ticket cost £31 and covered the house, park, gardens and a ride on the miniature diesel railway that goes around the grounds. The kids had a go on the adventure playground and on the brilliant slides (there are three huge ones, and the queues weren't longer than a minute or so) and then we went home.

It was a great day. There were no rows, no tears and I haven't broken up with my husband yet...

Entry to Knebworth House (house, gardens, park, playground and railway) costs from £31 for a family ticket. Visit www.knebworthhouse.com for more information.