Lynn Sunderland | Jun 26, 2018

Beautiful view from cafe. Improved choice of meals. Lovely cakes and biscuits. Service good. Lovely and clean. Shop well stocked with gifts, toys and activities for all ages. Very impressive. Well worth a visit.

DAPHNE WRIGHT | Jun 3, 2018

First visit and really impressed! The visitor centre and staff were so nice and helpful. The food was really tasty and fresh. Views from the cafe were lovely. Plenty to see and do for the family who like the great outdoors and easy walking for those like me who struggle a bit or need a wheelchair. Where else, for a donation fee of £2 towards parking and admission, can you have a day out?

Sheila Stead | Jul 6, 2018

This is one of my favourite places to have lunch, come rain or shine. The food is fantastic, the room is bright & airy, with panoramic windows to watch the birds fly in & out. They even have binoculars for you to use if you wish. Plus there is a small shop for wild bird food, hedgehog food & houses etc. I can't think of a better place to spend a few hours. I've yet to walk around the lake, but that just means I have to make a return visit 😄

Sarah H | May 18, 2018

Lovely nature reserve and very nice visitors centre. Cafe is lovely but two sticking points for me (which has cost it the 5th star) It's very expensive for what it is, and it's vegetarian. While I've nothing against vegetarian food I like meat with my meal.

Susan Ellis | May 8, 2018

We walk to here from my friends house. Nice walk along the river. The staff in the cafe are always very nice. Highly recommend the scones.

adam oprych | May 13, 2018

Beautiful walks. For both experienced walker's and those who just want a stroll. Excellent cafe with nice food. Shop has several nice pieces.

colin price | May 20, 2018

Lovely place to meander with or without kids. Some families took bikes. Hired explorer packs for the kids for a few pounds each which helped keep them entertained as we walked a few miles around the lake.

Lester Clark | Feb 28, 2018

Great place to explore. Many different routes to make your way around. Plenty of wild life; thousands of birds. Take your binoculars and camera

Michael Paganini | Apr 3, 2018

Whilst only a brief visit due to snow cover, I found Idle Valley to be beautiful indeed. With a large Visitor Centre and cafe, it is well worth a day of exploring.

Roger Stenson | Feb 27, 2018

Would be a better score if they hadn't chopped the willow archway down and installed plastic walkway with no safety rails over a muddy barren area with no obvious plan. It has reduced the area for any vegetation and wildlife. The approach looks awfull. The food in the restaurant is good BUT it would be even better if it wasn't ALL vegetarian. Some bacon cobs, sausages, meat stews, ham sandwiches etc would improve it

Annie Turner | Mar 9, 2018

What a lovely place had a great day. Walking round the lake and seeing all the birds. Then a fantastic lunch in the cafe looking out over the water. So peaceful. A wonderful place to take children.

Kay Toole | Apr 8, 2018

I took a very young family member, we were hunting 'crocodiles' in the puddles, we found lots of tracks to follow & what looked like a crocodile nest! A lovely walk, meeting lovely people & their dogs. My little guest was calling for toads from the side of the pond & to his delight so many came to see him..we are going back in a week to follow the life cycle of the toad, we are hoping for frog spawn. Dogs can be walk around this area on a lead, there are tables outside to sit at to be eith your dog, (Remember not to leave dogs unattended in public places, due to dog theft! (Nor in the car)). Parking is free but a donation of suggested £2 can be made. The cafe & shop are run by lovely staff. Have a lovely day here, the time passes so quickly when you are having fun..and we had so much fun. We spent 4+ hours here. Note some of the paths around this site could prove challenging for a wheelchair, with large muddy puddles it was challenging with a pushchair, we thought worth the challenge & so many birds to see, so many hugs to find!! Have a great day.