Family-friendly things to do this summer

New Pavilion of Play

The summer's here and we have some great ideas to fill it full of fun and adventure. 

Over in the Field of Play is a brand new Pavilion of Play for the school summer holidays. The pavilion includes lookout points, giant ear trumpets and crawl through holes, allowing families to observe nature in new ways.  The pavilion is surrounded by a giant straw bale maze, promising lots of fun for families with little ones (and not-so-little ones!) until the first weekend in September.

Come out and play: Summer of Sports

Families can also get active over the summer holidays with a choice of sports to try out.

On weekends there will be the chance for families to ‘hit the target’ with family friendly beginners' archery in the Field of Play. On Monday’s there will be lawn games including croquet and badminton.

On Fridays, head to the Field of Play where families can get sporty with games such as football, rounders, volleyball and even an egg and spoon race. Summer sports at Attingham are on set days from 23 July to 29 August 2022 (11.30am - 4.00pm).

Natural play

As you head around the park you'll find lots of natural play to keep little (and not so little) ones entertained. From fallen tree trunks to muddy paths and logs over the stream at the top of the Mile Walk there are various spots to be found. Children must be supervised at all times.

Attingham visual story

The Attingham visual story contains brief and visual information on the sights and sounds you might come across when visiting Attingham this summer.  

Attingham visual story (PDF / 2MB) download

Nature made this / We made this: summer art installation

This summer marvel at two decorative pieces of land art.

The first is on display in the Stables Courtyard and depicts elements of the Mansion's East Colonnade plasterwork ceiling, which is being conserved this summer. The artwork in the Stables has been made from coloured metal bottle tops.

A second new land art installation will develop and evolve during the school holidays using natural and recycled materials. We are hoping that visitors to Attingham will also want to join in, get creative and see the art materialise during the school holidays.

Summer Events

Paddle the Tern with Shrewsbury Canoe Hire

August 2022

Enjoy a paddle down the Tern, setting off from the jetty close to the Mansion, and heading up stream to the Cable-Stay bridge, before returning to the jetty.  Book in advance via Shrewsbury Canoe Hire's website.

Entry to Attingham Park for non-members with canoe bookings: Admission charges apply to non-members for entry to Attingham. If you have pre-booked your canoe tickets in advance from Shrewsbury Canoe Hire non-members can pay a reduced entry fee of £5 per person at Visitor Reception on the day. Please show confirmation of your canoe booking on arrival. This only applies to pre-booked canoe hire.

Please note: Canoeing is subject to the weather and river levels – and may be cancelled in adverse conditions, please check with Shrewsbury Canoe Hire before your visit.

Cycle Policy 

Children aged 5 and under are welcome to bring tricycles and starter bikes (either no peddles or with stabilisers) when they visit. Standard bicycles are unfortunately not permitted in the Park regardless of the cyclists age, to keep the Park a safe environment for budding cyclists to learn in and for all visitors to enjoy.

Children aged 11 years old and under are welcome to explore the grounds on push/kick scooters. Battery powered scooters are not permitted in the grounds. 

If you're looking for somewhere for the whole family to cycle together head over to Comer Woods at the Dudmaston Estate (close to Bridgnorth). The Explorer Trail includes a 3.5km long multi use trail perfect for families to explore whether walking, cycling or running.

Book your visit to Attingham at peak times

Attingham is one of the busiest properties in the National Trust. Visitor numbers have grown from 154,000 in 2006 to 541,000 in 2019 and we anticipate 2022 will be our busiest year ever.

We love being busy, but in the school holidays we can experience surges in visitor numbers at certain times of day which can overwhelm our visitor facilities particularly car parking, visitor welcome and the café.

To safeguard your visitor experience and rather than closing when our car park is full, we are trialling a booking system at peak times over the school holidays this year.

We have plenty of tickets available and booking spreads visits out across the day so our car park and visitor facilities can continue to operate efficiently and effectively.

You can book on the day or in advance to guarantee entry.

Outside of the school holidays there is no requirement to book.

Thank you so much for supporting Attingham to be full of life and locally loved.