Across Wiltshire, National Trust places are alive with the promise of warm summer days, lazy weekend picnics and trips out with family and friends. There’s lots going on this season from a foraging courses to outdoor theatres performances and yoga in nature to guided garden walks and talks, and much more.
What’s more, every time you experience a National Trust day out, you help care for these special places for future generations.
Here is what’s happening near you this spring, please check property website for opening days and times:
Avebury
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury
Guided tour of Avebury Manor Garden
6 Jun and 11 Jul. 10 – 11am
Join Avebury Manor Garden’s Head Gardener as he take visitors around the garden to share his knowledge about the site, from the fascinating history and how the garden has developed over the centuries, to the fantastic seasonal planting highlights and tips for your own gardens.
Avebury Manor Garden is now fully organic and the team is working to adapt to climate change and new challenges. Learn about all of this and more on an hour long tour of the garden followed by light refreshments in the National Trust café. The tour will last from 10am-11am, with 30 minutes of discussion and question time in the restaurant over refreshments afterwards.
Price: £15 (includes entry to the garden and tea or coffee and a baked treat at the café). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Landscape walk – Waden Hill
Sat 15 Jun. 1.30 – 4pm
The Waden Hill circuit takes in some of the Neolithic monuments which make up this ancient and intriguing landscape. The volunteer guide will help you to unlock the past by explaining the history of the landscape as you walk. Begin at Avebury and walk along the Winterbourne towards Silbury Hill, up Waden Hill and back via the West Kennet Avenue.
Price: £8. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Trust10 trail run at Avebury
23 Jun, 28 Jul and 25 Aug. 9 – 11am
The Trust10 is a monthly, 10k trail run that gives you the opportunity to explore the wider Avebury landscape. Enjoy a challenging run with stunning views across the wider Avebury landscape. Please remember to bring a water bottle. There is a free drinking water tap available at the finish.
Glow worm walk at Figsbury Ring, near Salisbury
Fri 28 Jun and Fri 5 Jul. 9.45 – 11pm
On this evening adventure, you can watch the curtain of night fall around us atop the ancient hillfort of Figsbury Ring, as we hope to meet some extraordinary creatures. Join us in twilight and listen as the rangers give a presentation about the magical glow worm, before heading out into the gradually darkening landscape to search for their charming luminescence. Whilst they seem exotic or even fairy-tale, glow worms (Lampyris noctiluca) are a relatively common species native to the UK with a preference for grassland and woodland edges. Far away from light pollution, Figsbury Ring is a relatively accessible spot with a well-established population of glow worms. Please dress warmly and bring a torch.
Price: £8. Booking essental 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Summer foraging course
Sat 4 Jul. 11am – 3pm
Discover nature’s wild food secrets on this foraging course with Fred Gillam. You’ll be able to enjoy walking through the Avebury landscape as Fred teaches you how to identify plants growing in our hedgerows, fields and woods.
Price: £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Summer floral workshop
Fri 12 Jul. 10am – 12.30pm
This workshop will give you the confidence and techniques to create a beautiful summer floral arrangement using seasonal flowers. Not only will you leave with a fantastic bouquet of flowers in a vintage jug, but also the skills to recreate your own arrangements in the future, including conditioning flower stems, and the power of the ‘Florist Three’. Many of the blooms will be sourced from Avebury Manor Garden. Why not visit the garden after your workshop to see the wonderful summer displays? Materials included as well as cream tea refreshments provided by the National Trust restaurant.
Price: £39. Booking essental 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Landscape walk – East of Avebury circuit
Tue 23 Jul. 1.30 – 4pm
A knowledgeable volunteer guide will help you to unlock the past by explaining the history of the landscape as you walk. As a World Heritage Site, the archaeologically rich landscape of Avebury has long been recognised as holding the key to our past. You can discover more of the landscape’s history on this walk of around two miles which takes in part of Avebury stone circle, prehistoric round barrows and West Kennet Avenue. With beautiful vistas and wide open skies you can also enjoy the stunning scenery.
Price: £8. Booking essental 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Family stone circle tour
Every Sun and Wed from 28 Jul. 11 – 11.45am and 1 – 1.45pm
Visiting with children and want to know more about Avebury? You can join a tour to learn more about this amazing site as a family! Tours are subject to volunteer availability. Please sign up and get your ticket from visitor reception in the barn. Please note, there is limited capacity and tickets are offered on a first come, first served basis
Price: £2.50 per child (adults free, normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock
Outdoor theatre: Beauty and the Beast by Chapterhouse Theatre Company
Thu 15 aug. 7 – 8.30pm
When an arrogant prince is cursed to live as a hideous beast, his only hope is a kindly young woman in search of a rose. Presented with lively original music and sparkling humour , Chapterhouse Theatre Company’s rollicking new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast is perfect for all the family!
Price: Adult £20 / Child £12 / Family (1A & 3C) £44 / Family (2A & 3C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Mompesson House
www.nationaltrust.org,uk/mompesson-house
The Invisible Hands of Mompesson House: Servants
Every Fri to Tue from 14 Jun to 27 Aug. 11am-4pm
Find out what life was like for the people who worked behind the scenes at Mompesson House, from the servants of the eighteenth century to the housekeeper and gardener in the 1950s. We’ll have information available in each room with details of servants’ lives throughout the years. Dress up in an apron and try your hand at laying the Dining Room table for Elizabeth Mompesson’s grand dinner party. Perfect for the young and the young at heart.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Stourhead
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead
Forage and cook walk
8 and 16 Jun, 13 Jul and 11 Aug. 10am – 4pm
A foraging crash-course the covers everything from identification, to preparation and cooking of wild food held on Stourhead’s beautiful wider estate. Totally Wild UK will guide you on a course designed to teach you about the natural world, as well as practical skills. Your professional forager will introduce you to a vast number of edible species; giving you tips on harvesting, correct identification and possible look-alikes as well as a huge range of cooking ideas. You will have an opportunity to taste a range of pre-made and cooked wild food tasters.
Price: £70. Booking essential 01747 841152 or via the website.
Summer Yoga
Tue 11, Tue 18 and Tue 25 Jun. 10 – 11am
Start your day with a refreshing session led by a professional yoga instructor, running every Tuesday in June. A chance to take time for yourself in a beautiful setting. This outdoor class is suited to all ability levels. A wet-weather location is available. Please bring your own mat.
Price: £15 (normal admissiona applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Father’s Day forest school
Sun 16 Jun. 10am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 4pm
Immerse yourself in our woods and share in natural crafts, den building and outdoor play with our professional facilitator. Activities may include: – how to look for signs and navigate using nature, build a watertight camp – foraging – fire lighting with flint and steel – charcoal making – making bramble cordage (whittling) – whittling a stick for cooking camp bread on fire – hammocks.
Price: £30 for 1 adult and 2 children. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Trust10
Sun 23 Jun, Sun 28 Jul and Sun 25 Aug. 8.30 – 11.30am
Stourhead’s Trust10 10k trail run is a challenging, multi-terrain run involving some public roads. Beginning and ending at Stourhead house, the trail takes in pasture, woodland and an Iron age hillfort with King Alfred’s Tower marking the mid-way point. Trust10 is all about enjoying the experience of running in beautiful landscapes, surrounded by nature, so if monitoring your running time is important to you, please remember to bring your own timing device.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Royal Geographical Society: Earth Photo 24
Daily from 24 Jun. 9am – 4.30pm
A collaboration between the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), Forestry England and Parker Harris, Earth Photo celebrates photographic and film work that conveys the world around us and makes us think differently, capturing nature, people, place and space, forests, the land and seascapes, and the varied impacts of, and adaptations to, climate change.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Stourhead estate walks
28 Jun, 26 Jul and 30 Aug. 11am – 1pm
Be led on lesser-known routes around Stourhead’s wider estate, see bluebells in spring, wildflowers and butterflies in summer, and the golden landscapes of autumn. Learn more about the archaeology and fascinating history of this storied landscape. 28 June: Whitesheet Hill – looking at archaeology, butterflies and wildflowers. 26 July: Park Hill Camp – looking at estate and woodland management and wildlife. 30 August: Alfred’s Tower – looking at wildlife plus estate and woodland management.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Seasonal Yoga
Sun 28 Jul. 10.30 -11.45am
Join a professional yoga instructor for an outdoor class suited to all ability levels. Connect with your body, and with nature, through yoga linked to the season. A wet-weather location is available. Please bring your own mat.
Price: £15 (normal admission applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Summer theatre: Beauty and the Beast
Fri 23 Aug. 4 – 6.30pm
Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing the classic production of Beauty and the Beast. Bring a picnic and join us on the West Lawn at the back of Stourhead House for an enjoyable evening under the stars.
Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Summer theatre: Little Women
Fri 30 Aug. 7 – 9.30pm
Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing classic production of Little Women. Bring a picnic and join us on the West Lawn at the back of Stourhead House for an enjoyable evening under the stars.
Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Summer theatre: Pride and Prejudice
Sat 31 Aug. 7 – 9.30pm
Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing classic production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Bring a picnic and join us on the West Lawn at the back of Stourhead House for an enjoyable evening under the stars.
Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Walled Garden talks
Every Wed. 12.30 – 1.30 and 2 – 3pm
Learn more about the function of the Walled Garden, both past and present, on this guided talk.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Walks and Talks
Daily. 11am – 12.30pm & 1.30 – 3pm
Accompany one of Stourhead’s knowledgeable volunteers on the original route taken by the Hoare family and their guests, and learn the history of this fascinating place. Walks take approx. 1/1.5hrs. Meet by the interpretation hub.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Making a House a Home: 300 Years of Women’s History at Stourhead
Daily. 11am – 4pm
The Stourhead story is told through the eyes of the women who played a part in making it into a special place, including Alda Hoare, who gifted Stourhead to the National Trust in 1946, to Jane Benson who was the first lady to live in the house in the 18th century. Some left diaries, allowing us to know their thoughts and feelings, others left only a single letter or photograph. On display you will find personal mementos, diary passages and replica dresses that have been carefully recreated based on historical photographs and portraits.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Summer of Play with the National Trust
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/family-friendly
From 21 July
Discover a world of adventure and play this summer across many National Trust places in the South West. There’ll be lots of fun for you and your family from lawn games, such as quoits and skittles, to den-building, arts and crafts to pop up sports days, costumes and role play to giant Jenga, there is something for everyone.
Price: Free, normal admission prices apply. Booking not required.