The order matters more than anything else. Children have a fixed amount of goodwill and the farmyard spends it best.
10.00: farmyard and adventure playground first
Book the farmyard-and-playground ticket (it can be bought on its own) and go straight up the hill from the car park while everyone is fresh. Daily animal activities are timetabled on the farmyard notice board; the woodland adventure playground has water and sand play, so pack a change of clothes and expect two hours to vanish. There is a cafe and shop at the farmyard and its own toilets.
12.00: picnic in the park
Picnics are free anywhere in the park. Walk down past the house to the riverbank on the Calton Lees side, where the bank is gentle enough for paddling in the shallows (swimming and boats are banned, toes are not). Sheep, ducks, a bridge to run over, and the house in the background for the photograph.
13.30: the house, briefly
If the children are eight or over, book an early-afternoon house slot and go round in an hour rather than ninety minutes. The Painted Hall (the huge painted ceiling), the Chapel and the Sculpture Gallery are the rooms that land; the library and bedrooms do not. No pushchairs, rucksacks or rucksack-style carriers inside: lockers take a £1 coin. Under-eights are usually happier skipping the house, and the garden’s maze and Cascade are a fair trade.
15.00: the garden or the walk
The maze (planted with over a thousand yews in 1962) and the Cascade are the garden’s two children’s draws; the fountains play until 4.30pm. Or skip the garden and do the Baslow walk in reverse from the house, flat and pushchair-friendly, with a tea room at the far end.
On the way home
Several villages have free public playgrounds, listed on the playgrounds page with distances. Bakewell has the ducks and the pudding shops. For a second day, Peak Rail steam trains from Rowsley and the flat, traffic-free Monsal Trail with bike hire from Bakewell are the two that never fail.
Big days
The Country Fair in early September is free for children under 16 and is built for them: vintage funfair, hot-air balloon, stunt teams. At Christmas the farmyard runs seasonal crafts and under-3s are free.