Anger over Clumber Park's price hike entry fee plans

The National Trust has announced visitors to the Worksop beauty spot will no longer be charged per car, at a set price of £7, but per person.

And with entry prices for set to change to £5 each for adults, and £2.50 for children, larger families could find themselves handing over more than double what they do now to enjoy the popular site.

Worksop resident Lynn Roys said: “Clumber Park was always free for locals years ago. We used to love going as a family – now it would cost us £47.50 per visit. That will be a ‘no’ from us.”

Barbara Whiteman added: “It is supposed to be a family park, but now it’s only for the rich.”

But trust staff have defended the increase, which comes into effect from November and marks the first step in a 10-year ‘revitalisation project’ for the park.

Beth Dawson, Clumber Park’s general manager, said: “This brings us in line with many other visitor attractions, meaning we can remove the current two-tier pricing structure for the park and provide essential income to help us care for Clumber Park for future generations.

“We need to ensure Clumber Park remains a special place for people to enjoy and this means that over the next 10 years we need to change how parts of it are used and cared for.

“We’ll be planning and implementing what those changes look like over the coming months and years and are focused on ensuring that they will make visiting Clumber Park a better experience for all of our visitors whilst conserving the things we love about the property.”

The per-person charge will include entry into the park’s Walled Kitchen Garden, which previously would have been charged separately, at £5 per adult.

National Trust members will continue to receive free entry into the park.