Enjoy February half term

Children walking between the trees

After a long dark winter, February half term is a great time to get back outside and stretch your legs. Let the kids run around outdoors, enjoy the open spaces, fresh air and early spring sunlight.

There is no need to pre-book your visit, just park in the main car park and show your membership cards or purchase your tickets at Visitor Reception. If you are looking to visit when the site tends to be a little more quiet, pop along on a weekday or in the afternoon.

The outdoor areas of the paddock, spinney, wild play corner, parkland and formal garden are open for you to enjoy fresh air, stretch your legs and spot the signs of spring.

Wherever you go on site, wellies are highly recommended! After the recent wet weather a lot of the site is very muddy and wet. Some areas of the garden will be roped off at this time due to extremely boggy weather.

 

See what natural marvels you can find on your day out
An adult and a child looking for insects in some rotting wood
See what natural marvels you can find on your day out

Outdoor explorers

When you arrive with your little explorers, you can pick up an activity sheet from Visitor Reception for no extra charge. This half term we have a new activity sheet to try: ‘Nature detectives: All about birds’. Explore the grounds using your spotting skills and become bird experts. 

Explore the spinney - it's on the way out (or you can pop in there any time). Look out for the bug hotels and count how many creepy crawlies you can see. It's a great place to examine nature close up. 

Want to stretch your legs a little more? Pop out into the parkland! Roam far and wide and see what you can discover. Keep an eye out for the early spring bulbs popping out. Look out for snowdrops, aconites, cyclamen and more, and please be careful not to tread on them.

Treat yourself to something tasty
Child enjoying a scone with jam and cream
Treat yourself to something tasty

Treat yourself

The Stables Tea Room will be open serving drinks, snacks, light lunches and yummy treats. Take away options are also avialable and there is seating indoors and outdoors. 

Our Coach House Gift Shop is open and stocks a great selection of pocket money toys and books as well as seasonal gifts. 

Every penny spent in our Tea Room and Gift Shop helps us raise funds to continue to look after Canons Ashby for the future.

Don't miss

The house and church are also open to enjoy. Our friendly room guides are on hand to answer any questions you may have and share more information about this fascinating place. You don’t need to pre-book tickets for these areas, Visitor Reception will advise about times slots on arrival if it’s a busy period. For more on opening times, check here.