Twinlakes Park: Tickets, Height Restrictions, Opening Times and Where to Stay

Twinlakes Park is the one attraction in this part of the Midlands that genuinely does everything at once: fairground rides, a water park, indoor soft play for when it turns, and a set of animal paddocks that buy you twenty calm minutes between the loud bits. That combination is why it survives a British summer better than a pure outdoor park, and why families staying at the family cottage in Northamptonshire tend to give it a whole day rather than half of one.

It is also the furthest of the big family days out from Clipston, roughly forty-five minutes north-east into Leicestershire, which changes how you plan it. This guide covers tickets and the online saving, the height restrictions that catch parents of toddlers out, opening times, what is actually on site, and how it compares with the closer options like Wicksteed Park and Twycross Zoo.

Twinlakes Park tickets and prices: book online, not at the gate

Twinlakes runs a pre-book model rather than a walk-up one. The park advertises a saving of 25% for booking online against paying at the entrance, and asks visitors to book in advance. Tickets are available at the gate, but you pay for the privilege.

There is a second timing quirk worth knowing: the park indicates that booking before 10:30am on the day of your visit secures the better rate. If you are driving forty-five minutes from Clipston and someone has forgotten to book, do it from the car before you set off rather than in the car park.

Prices are reviewed through the year and vary by date, so rather than quote a figure that will be stale by the time you read this, check the official park site or ring 01664 567 777 between 08:30 and 17:00. The park also runs an app, which is the most reliable source for ride availability on the day.

Twinlakes height restrictions and the under-3 rule

This is the single detail that surprises families most, and it is worth reading twice. At Twinlakes the admission threshold for small children is governed by height as well as age. A child who is under three years old but taller than 95cm will be charged for entry.

In practice that means a tall two-year-old pays and a small two-year-old does not, which is not how most attractions work and not what most parents expect. If you are budgeting for a family of six with a toddler in the group, measure at home rather than assume, because the difference is a full ticket.

Individual rides carry their own height limits on top of that, as at any theme park. With a wide age spread in the party, the practical approach is to accept that the youngest will not ride everything and to plan around the indoor play and the animal areas as their share of the day, rather than having that argument at the front of a queue.

Twinlakes Park opening times and what is on site

The site is organised into distinct zones rather than one continuous fairground, which is what makes it workable with a wide age range. The four broad areas are the rides, the water park, the indoor play, and the animals.

1. The rides at Twinlakes

The ride mix runs from gentle carousel-scale machines to the bigger items that older children queue twice for. It is a family theme park rather than a thrill park, so if your teenagers are expecting Alton Towers they will be disappointed, and if you have a seven-year-old it is close to ideal.

Queues concentrate in the middle of the day and in school holidays. Arriving at opening and doing the busiest rides first is the standard tactic and it works here, because most families drift in between eleven and midday.

2. The water park

The water park is the part that turns a good day into a long one, with slides and splash play. It is also the part most affected by weather and season, so confirm it is operating before you commit to carrying swimming kit and towels for a family of six.

If it is running, plan it for the middle of the afternoon rather than first thing. Children who get wet at half past ten spend the rest of the day damp, and the drive back to Clipston is forty-five minutes.

3. Indoor play and the wet-weather plan

The indoor play areas are the reason Twinlakes holds up when the forecast turns, and they are the difference between this and a purely outdoor attraction. On a genuinely wet day they will absorb a couple of hours without complaint.

That said, if the whole day is a washout, the National Space Centre in Leicester is entirely indoors and closer to Clipston at about forty minutes. Save Twinlakes for a day with some sun in it and you get far more for the ticket.

4. The animals

The animal encounters are the calm quarter of the site and they matter more than the marketing suggests. With a group of six containing very different ages, having somewhere quiet to regroup between rides is what stops the day unravelling at three o’clock.

If animals are the main draw rather than a break from the rides, Twycross Zoo is the stronger choice and is a full day in its own right. Twinlakes does animals as a supporting act, well, but as a supporting act.

Twinlakes compared with the other family days out near Market Harborough

Twinlakes is one of five genuinely full-day family attractions within reach of Clipston, and they are not interchangeable. Choosing badly costs you a day of a week’s holiday, so it is worth matching the attraction to the group rather than to the nearest postcode.

The pattern most families settle into over a week is one paid full day, two or three free half-days and an evening or two eating at the house. Brixworth Country Park at fifteen minutes and Foxton Locks at twenty do the free half-days without anyone reaching for a wallet.

Planning a Twinlakes day from Clipston

Forty-five minutes each way means this is a departure-time decision rather than a spontaneous one. Leaving Clipston at about nine gets you to Melton Mowbray for opening at ten, which is the single biggest thing you can do to improve the day: the car park is emptier, the queues are shorter and the ride throughput is at its best in the first ninety minutes.

Coming home, seventeen o’clock closing plus a forty-five minute drive puts you back at Clipston at about six with six tired people and nobody wanting to cook. That is the argument for the covered outdoor kitchen at the house: get the BBQ going while the children are still in the car and dinner is solved.

Alternatively the Bulls Head in Clipston is a five-minute walk from the door, which is the shortest possible distance between arriving home exhausted and eating a meal you did not cook. Our guide to restaurants near The Barn covers the rest.

The best time to visit Twinlakes Park

Term-time weekdays are quietest by a wide margin, and if your children are not yet at school this is the single biggest lever you have. School holidays and half-term weeks bring the queues that turn a seven-hour opening window into four hours of actual riding, and they fill the car park before midday.

Season matters more here than at an indoor attraction because the water park is the differentiator, and it is the first thing curtailed when the weather turns. Late June through August is when the site is running at full capacity with everything open, which is also when it is busiest. September weekdays are the sweet spot if you can take them: most of the season still running, a fraction of the crowd.

The event weeks are worth checking either way, because they cut both directions. Dino Week and the Santa season add attractions that are not there the rest of the year, and they also add visitors. If your group is mainly under-eights, the themed weeks are usually worth the extra crowd. If you have teenagers who want ride throughput, avoid them.

One last scheduling note that applies to any forty-five-minute drive: check the calendar for your specific date rather than trusting a general seasonal assumption. Twinlakes does not open every day of the year, the pattern varies week to week, and a closed gate at the end of a three-quarter-hour drive with six people in the car is a bad start to a holiday.

Where to stay near Twinlakes Park

Twinlakes has lodges on site, which suits a family who want one attraction and nothing else. The alternative, and the one that works better across a week, is a house positioned between several attractions rather than next to one.

The Barn at Clipston sleeps 8 across four bedrooms on the 14 Acres estate, ten minutes from Market Harborough and about fifteen from the A14, M1 and M6. From there Twinlakes, the National Space Centre, Brixworth, Foxton Locks and Kelmarsh Hall are all day trips from the same front door. See family getaways at 14 Acres for how a group of six fits, or the large cottage near Market Harborough for the full specification.

More to explore

• Twycross Zoo, if animals are the main event.
• Wicksteed Park, rides and parkland at Kettering.
• National Space Centre, the reliable wet-weather day.
• Brixworth Country Park, free and fifteen minutes away.
• Family getaways at 14 Acres, for a group of six.

The Barn at Clipston: your base for a family week

A converted country barn on the 14 Acres estate, sleeping 8 across four bedrooms, with a 10-metre glass wall onto a private enclosed garden, a covered dining terrace with a gas BBQ, and a kitchen built for a group cooking together after a long day out.

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