Rollercoaster Mum: National Trust Free Weekend - this weekend!

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Tuesday 16 April 2013

National Trust Free Weekend - this weekend!

Last year I wrote about our trip to Uppark House and Gardens on the National Trust free weekend and they're doing it again this weekend - the 20th and 21st April. All you have to do is visit the National Trust website, download the voucher and you can get a free day out for up to 2 adults and 2 kids. They are opening up over 200 of their properties for this and there's bound to be one near you. The website has full details of which properties are included.

For those of you who remember the National Trust as just a bunch of stuffy old houses it really has changed and lots of the properties provide loads of kid friendly activities including trails to follow, activity packs and toy boxes. And of course most of them have lots and lots of lovely outside space for the kids to run around.

We had a blast last year at Uppark, exploring the gardens, rolling down hills, following the garden trail, seeing the biggest dolls house ever and making echoes in the underground tunnels.

National Trust
Admiring the view at Uppark House
Another great place to visit is Winkworth Arboretum which we visited last autumn to admire the fabulous autumn colour but is great in spring for spotting bluebells and magnolias. We had a picnic on a bench with a fabulous view, ran down hills, climbed trees and admired the ducks on the lake from the rather wonderful boathouse.

National Trust
Collecting leaves by the Boathouse at Winkworth Arboretum
A little bit further afield from us we have also visited Avebury Manor. This is a great place for kids - every room has been refurbished in a different era from the house's history (it featured on a BBC programme 'To the Manor Reborn' a couple of years ago.) The best bit is you can play and touch it all - bounce on the beds, cook in the kitchen, play billiards, discover the secret door, do some sewing, have a go on the exercise chair. and admire the fabulous and colourful rooms. The kids loved it and when you've had enough inside there are wonderful gardens and of course the fascinating stone circle.

National Trust
Trying out the exercise chair at Avebury Manor
The girls have loved every National Trust property we have been to and clamoured to go again so this is a great opportunity to try a visit to the National Trust, try somewhere new or revisist a favourite place- and it's FREE! We will definitely be taking advantage of it again - it's just a question of where, which may depend a bit on the good old British weather. We may be hunting out the deer at Petworth Park, trying out the fabulous looking new playground at the Vyne or checking out the daffodils at Hinton Ampner.

This is not a sponsored or paid for post. 

5 comments:

  1. Fantastic - thank you so much for sharing this! It's SD's 50 birthday on Sunday and although we have plans for then I was looking for something we could do on the Saturday - this is perfect!

    Heading over right now :)

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  2. Just to let you know - I have been over and grabbed my voucher and we will be off to Dunster Castle on Saturday - thank you again x

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    1. That's brilliant Sarah - so glad it was helpful to somebody and I hope you have a great time (just off to look up Dunster Castle to see what it's all about!) It's great to see that you are happy with SD too :) xxx (been very bad at visiting your blog lately *hangs head in shame*)

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  3. Thank you for sharing this on my blog's facebook page :) We are off to Cornwall this weekend and are going to try out a property there, I was a bit (ok, very) nervous about taking the toddler but am feeling much more confident now!!

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    1. Thank you for letting me! Cornwall's lovely and I think it had loads of NT properties - I think Tintagel is one - that's spectacular - no old furniture and breakables but lots of steps and a bit of a steep hill!

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