Mother Shipton’s Cave
Key Info
Cost
£33 per car for up to 5 people, Under 3’s are free – each stay is for 2.5 hours
Same price for walking in rather than driving
Guide books £1, Prophecy book £3.95,
Parking
Large car park included in admission price
Opening Hours
7 days a week, term time 10-16:30, weekends 10 – 17:30
Several vans in the park, serving hot drinks, pies, sandwiches, ice creams & snacks
Park area’s with slides and swings
Pram friendly for part only – people were leaving their prams to get to the cave which is steps only and was using them elsewhere
Not wheelchair friendly
Toilet
Our Visit
Visited August 2023
Its CASHLESS and dog friendly and you pre book online for this
We have heard good thing’s about Mother Shipton’s Cave, and I did visit as a child, so we decided to visit! It didn’t disappoint!
If you arrive by car, you check in through the drive through entrance. You drive down to the carpark, and it’s a lovely walk (5 minutes) by the stream until you are in the woodlands.
There’s lots of information about the history of Mother Shipton, (Ursula Sontheil), born in 1488, the petrifying and wishing well.
There are several huts, all themed and decorated for kids to play in which were brilliant. It’s currently pirate and mermaid themed, with a mermaid in one of the huts for the children to meet. The pirate was fab with the boys, teaching them secret handshakes, taking pictures and spent alot of time chatting away with them, which made it extra special. The other huts were really good, one large one with a pirate ship for them to play in, another with mermaid tails which you can stand behind and pretend to be one. They also had a coin tree, where you can hammer in some pennies.
There were people with prams, which you use until you are arriving at the cave. There is no access for wheelchairs or prams from that point onwards (It’s steps leading down to it)
The petrifying well is so pretty to look at! It has different items hanging, which they petrify (it takes 3-5 months for a teddy) and they sell the stone teddies in the gift shop! We also went to the little wishing well around the back, where you put your right hand into the water and make a wish! Our eldest wished for super powers and was not happy he couldn’t turn invisible by the time he got home haha. You can buy a little bottle from the shop for £4.95 if you want to take some of the water home with you.
The cave is next to the wells, which has a statue of Mother Shipton and a button you can press, which explains a bit of history.
The adventure playground is great. It has a things for the little ones, as well as older. There is a pirate ship, (our 2 year old could climb in it and go down the slide without support). There’s swings and climbing frames and seating for the adults
They also have a museum and gift shop (not safe for our youngest child who is like a tornado, so keep a close eye as there’s lot of ornaments and breakable objects in). Our eldest did go in and bought a few bits, reasonably priced (fridge magnets were only £2.95)
They do ask you to stay for 2.5 hours only. We did find that timeframe difficult, as with kids, they love to explore and we didn’t want to rush, so we stayed a bit longer than that!
For anyone with sensory needs, there’s lots of open space, it didn’t feel crowded, there were lots of places where you could walk to for time away from others if needed. it felt easy to get too, the car park is by the stream and the walk didn’t take us long. they have staff dotted about it you needed any assistance.
They have their Halloween tickets out already & their Christmas ones shortly, so keep your eyes peeled!
We really enjoyed it and will visit again