Across Wiltshire, National Trust places are alive with the promise of warm summer days, lazy weekend picnics and trips out with family and friends.
Lots is going on this season, from foraging courses to outdoor theatre performances and yoga in nature to guided garden walks and talks, and much more.
Here is what’s happening near you this spring, please check the property website for opening days and times:
Avebury:
Guided tour of Avebury Manor Garden
6 Jun and 11 Jul. 10 – 11am
Join Avebury Manor Garden's Head Gardener as he takes 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.
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.
A misty sunrise on West Kennet Avenue at Avebury. #StandingStoneSunday
— Avebury NT (@AveburyNT) March 17, 2024
©National Trust Images/Emma Weston pic.twitter.com/bX6gRd5Ksf
Landscape walk – Waden Hill
Sat 15 Jun. 1.30 – 4pm
The volunteer guide will help you unlock the past by explaining the history of the landscape as you walk.
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 allows you to explore the wider Avebury landscape.
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 nightfall around us atop the ancient hillfort of Figsbury Ring, as we hope to meet some extraordinary creatures.
Price: £8. Booking essential 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.
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.
Price: £39. Booking essential 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.
Price: £8. Booking essential 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
Price: £2.50 per child (adults free, normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village
Outdoor theatre: Beauty and the Beast by Chapterhouse Theatre Company
Thu 15 aug. 7 – 8.30pm
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.
Lacock Abbey, England 🏴 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/ySpwaQ9QpX
— Tudor for architecture🇬🇧 (@ArchitectureTud) March 23, 2024
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 housekeepers and gardeners in the 1950s.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Summer at Mompesson House Garden in Wiltshire is in full swing when the roses and dahlias bloom and brighten the borders.
— National Trust (@nationaltrust) July 28, 2023
This secluded garden surrounds a quintessential Queen Anne townhouse with Georgian interiors, once home of London-based architect, Denis Martineau. pic.twitter.com/3cDxIrX5SG
Stourhead
Forage and cook walk
8 and 16 Jun, 13 Jul and 11 Aug. 10am – 4pm
A foraging crash course that he covers everything from identification to preparation and cooking of wild food held on Stourhead's beautiful wider estate.
Price: £70. Booking essential 01747 841152 or via the website.
Summer Yoga
Tue 11, Tue 18 and Tue 25 Jun. 10 – 11am
This outdoor class is suited to all ability levels. 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.
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.
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.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is 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 is 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. t.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Seasonal Yoga
Sun 28 Jul. 10.30 -11.45am
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.
Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Stop what you're doing – we found the droid you're looking for.
— National Trust (@nationaltrust) May 4, 2024
Photo: Stourhead, Wiltshire#StarWarsDay pic.twitter.com/ysbIuwO7O6
Summer theatre: Little Women
Fri 30 Aug. 7 – 9.30pm
Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing a 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 a 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, in this guided talk.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is 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 is 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
This includes 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.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is not required.
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