Rufford Abbey sits in one hundred and fifty acres of historic parklands, woodland and gardens in an area of Nottinghamshire that is known as the ‘Dukeries’. The park includes the ruins of a monastery, a craft centre, walled gardens and offers a range of woodland walks, as well as The Wheel of Fortune Maze offering a great day out for all the family, but it now adds something new, but which is very old.

A new archaeological dig has revealed the remains of a medieval church, dating back to around 1160. Experts involved in the dig hope that when examined in depth it will help them to understand how the nearby Abbey’s buildings developed until it was ransacked during The Reformation under Henry VIII’s reign. This period in our history saw tremendous religious change and the beginning of the end for almost every Catholic monastery as they were demolished or stripped of anything of value.

The uncovering of the remains of the original church is being seen as quite momentous as they will be able to show the full history from its early beginnings to its end as a religious site, and beyond as a country estate.

So why not make a day of it, pack the picnic and the kids in their Bear Grylls T-Shirts, experience some history by looking at the ruins and the exhibition, a walk in the woods, get lost in the maze and round the day off with a picnic by the lake. They also run a series of special events throughout the year and this week you could even get involved with the excavation itself as they are running a ‘Volunteer Excavation’ on targeted areas of the medieval abbey itself. Sounds good to me