Go wild this summer with the National Trust

You need never be stuck for what to do during the summer holidays again! Just download a colourful wall planner which has 42 days of action-packed ideas and things to do at National Trust properties. Ideal for parents and grandparents wanting to take the kids on a good value, fun-filled day out.

Deciding what to do this summer will be a doddle, here are a few ideas from the planner:

- It’s a Monk’s life: Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire
Dress in monk’s robes and learn about their daily life.
1st - 31st August (Wednesday and Friday only) at 2pm

- Roman weekend: Dolaucothi Gold Mines, Carmarthenshire
Come and see life as it was – displays of food, medicine and clothing.

- Be bat detectives: Crom, Fermanagh, N. Ireland
August 2nd, 8.30 pm

- Night time safari: Stourhead, Wiltshire
Discover the secrets of Stourhead’s wildlife.
August 2nd, 8.30pm

- Tracks, trails and signals: Ickworth House & Gardens, Suffolk
Explore the park using a variety of different codes and secrets.
August 2nd 11am-4pm

- Have a go with a bow: Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
Try your hand at archery!
August 5th & 26th, 2 pm

- Tracker pack days at Greys Court, Oxfordshire
Be a detective in the enchanting gardens of Greys Court, using your own tracker pack which you can hire free of charge. Normal admission applies.
14 & 28 Aug, 12 to 5pm

- Washday at the Apprentice House: Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire
Come along and help with the daily chores!
August 13th 12-3pm

- Wizards and dragons afternoon: Killerton, Devon
Join the hunt for Killerton’s legendary dragon.
August 15th 2-4pm

- Dragonfly walk: Dudmaston, Shropshire
A guided walk to spot Dudmaston’s famous dragonflies!
August 19th, 2pm

- Underground Petworth: Petworth House, West Sussex
Explore beneath the house through tunnels, re-tracing the steps of footmen and wartime evacuees.
August 25th-26th 1-4.30pm

The planner also has details of outdoor plays, trails and quizzes, tracker packs, hands-on activities and costumed interpreters bringing history to life.

Download a planner of your area free from Nationaltrust.org.uk/summersussed

Parents around the country are sure to get lots of peace and quiet when their kids download one of our free wildlife passports. Once they have their own passports they can travel to National Trust properties to get closer to nature!

The Trust is encouraging all kids to get their knees dirty and be hidden nature detectives, discovering wildlife in their own gardens – looking under stones, beneath tree barks, in rock pools, where they will find hundreds of little creatures going about their day to day business. With their parent’s permission they can create a wildlife garden or build bug hotels so that little beasties can thrive.

There will also be loads of useful information on the National Trust website including top tips on how to spot wildlife, facts about all of the different places that you can see them and what you can do at home to help.

There is also the chance to win some fab prizes by entering the special hidden nature competition and everyone who enters will receive a poster. To have a chance of winning kids will need to tell us about what they’re doing for wildlife at home and some of the places that they’ve been to see hidden nature. Details about the competition can be found on the website at: Nationaltrust.org.uk/hiddennature

There are all sorts of wildlife events all over the country:

- Go on a bat walk, use a bat detector and watch bats leave their roosts as they hunt for their dinner
- Trap moths
- Go on a dirty knees bug safari
- Watch badgers and butterflies
- Hunt down glow worms

Amazing facts:

- A massive 95% of National Trust buildings (grand country houses, barns, cottages) have bats living in them.
-An oil beetle which was thought to be extinct in the UK since 1948 has been found on National Trust land in South Devon.
-The National Trust looks after 59 important fossil sites, spanning 600 million years of history.

When you visit, why not pick up a lunch box from a National Trust café and have a picnic too? And if the weather lets you down there’s always a warm welcome at a National Trust tea room or restaurant nearby.