Family Activities in Corbridge: Days Out with the Kids

Corbridge is a small village, but it has a Roman town on its doorstep, a river to walk beside and plenty of space for children to run around. This guide gathers the best family activities in and around the village, from free play areas to paid days out, with a few rainy-day ideas and seasonal events.

Opening hours change through the year, and many places keep shorter hours in winter, so check before you set off.

Corbridge Roman Town

Corbridge Roman Town, run by English Heritage on the western edge of the village, is the obvious starting point. Children can walk down the Roman main street pictured above, explore the remains of granaries and buildings, and see finds from the site in the museum, including the Corbridge Hoard.

English Heritage offers a World Builder trail for families, and the museum has a colouring and jigsaw area and a toy and dressing-up box. The grounds have space to run about, though ball games and kites are not allowed. There is no cafe on site, just a vending machine for hot drinks, so many families bring a picnic to eat at the benches in the grounds. Pushchairs are allowed and the toilets have baby changing.

English Heritage currently lists the site as open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Booking ahead saves 15%, and visitors who arrive by bus get 20% off a walk-up ticket. Our guide to visiting Corbridge Roman Town covers tickets and getting there on foot, by bus and by train.

Playgrounds

The village has three small public play areas, all looked after by Corbridge Parish Council: the Chains off St Helen's Street, beside a large playing field; the Parish Hall play area, also on St Helen's Street; and the play area on the Cragside estate. All three are getting new equipment under the council's 2026 play plans. Our guide to the best playgrounds in Corbridge has the details.

For a bigger play park, Hexham is about four miles west. The Sele, behind Hexham Abbey, sits beside a skate park, and Tyne Green Country Park by the river has a large enclosed playground with a zip wire and free parking.

The riverside and family walks

The 1674 bridge over the Tyne is a good place to start a walk. From the bridge you can follow the riverbank west towards the Roman Town or the floodbank east towards Dilston, both flat and suitable for younger legs. Our walks around Corbridge guide lists routes with distances and parking. The riverside is also popular with dog walkers, and our dog-friendly Corbridge guide has more ideas if the family dog is coming too.

Best for: The floodbank south of the river is low-lying and has flooded before. Keep children well back from the water's edge, avoid the riverside when the Tyne is running high, and check the Environment Agency's flood warnings first.

Dilston Physic Garden

Dilston Physic Garden, just over a mile south-west of the village across the Tyne, is a charity-run science garden growing more than 700 plants with histories in health and medicine. Older children who like nature tend to enjoy it, and new paths and gazebo shelters make it easier to visit in poor weather. The garden also runs school visits from its classroom.

From April to October it opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. From November to 20 December, and from 5 February to March, it opens Friday to Sunday from 12pm to 3pm, and it closes completely from 21 December to 4 February.

Brocksbushes Farm

Brocksbushes Farm, off the A69 just east of Corbridge, is a family-run farm with a four-level indoor play barn, an outdoor play area, a farm shop and a cafe. Birthday parties can be booked. In season it runs pick your own fruit and autumn pumpkin picking, and it holds a ticketed Christmas Fayre in the run-up to Christmas. Parking is free.

Books, stories and the library

Forum Books, the independent bookshop in a converted 1867 chapel, has turned the old pulpit into a children's reading corner. It opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and on Sundays from 11am to 4pm, and runs author events through the year.

Corbridge Library on Hill Street is free to join, with books to borrow, public computers and free Wi-Fi. It opens on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm.

Junior sport and clubs

Corbridge has a good range of junior sport for a village its size:

• Rugby. Tynedale RFC at Tynedale Park runs minis from under-6 to under-11, juniors from under-12 to under-16 and a girls' section.
• Cricket. Corbridge Cricket Club runs the national All Stars programme for five to eight-year-olds, junior age-group teams and holiday coaching.
• Tennis. Corbridge Tennis Club welcomes parents and young children from four.
• Karate. Seiken Ryu Karate runs an earlier class for children and beginners.
• Running. Tyne Green parkrun in Hexham holds a free junior parkrun over 2km for children aged 4 to 14 every Sunday at 9am.

Our guide to sport and clubs in Corbridge has more on each club, and our running and cycling guide covers family-friendly routes.

Rainy-day ideas

• The Roman Town museum is indoors, though the rest of the site is outdoors.
• St Andrew's Church is open daily from 9.30am to 4pm, and children can look for the Roman arch built into the church.
• Brocksbushes play barn is indoors.
• Further afield, our guide to museums near Corbridge covers Hexham Old Gaol, Vindolanda, Chesters and Housesteads Roman forts and Cherryburn, and Hexham has the Queen's Hall Arts Centre and the Forum Cinema.

Seasonal events

Christmas is a busy time for families in the village. St Andrew's Church usually holds a Christmas Tree Festival in early December, and the village shops stay open late for an evening of Christmas shopping. Dilston Physic Garden and Brocksbushes Farm both run festive shopping events. For dates, see our events calendar.

Eating out with children

Several cafes and pubs in the village welcome families. The Black Bull on Middle Street serves food all day and has a children's menu. Our guides to coffee shops and cafes and eating out in Corbridge list the rest.

Getting here

Corbridge station on the Tyne Valley line is about half a mile south of the village centre, across the bridge. If you drive, our guide to parking in Corbridge lists the car parks, including the free Corbridge Village Car Park on the south side of the bridge. For more ideas for older children and adults, see our things to do in Corbridge guide.