Visiting Fountains Abbey this summer

A nature detectives summertime adventure

Join us for a summer holiday adventure and get involved with the wonderful ways you can craft and learn about the natural world all around you.

Nature detective spotter sheet

all summer long

Choose your own adventure by picking up a spotter sheet from any admissions point on your way in. Use your senses to discover more about nature here at Fountans Abbey, Look to the skies, your toes and all around you to become a certified nature detective.

Get crafty at Swanley Grange

Stop by Swanley Grange on your way down or back up from the abbey to have a go at some fun crafting with our volunteers. 

Wool wrapped birds, 23 July - 7 August, 11am-3pm

Even the littlest hands can have fun making a colourful wool bird to take home after a days adventures.

Leaf clue crafts, 8 August - 21 August, 11am-3pm

Create your own leaf identification sheet to become a tree explorer as you adventure around the estate. The more colourful the better! 

Craft a butterly coaster, 22 August - 4 September, 11am-3pm

Get messy with clay and natural materials to create your own butterly coaster to take home. 

Adventures in the abbey & water garden

Making a wild bracelet, 2 August, 2-4pm

Stop by the tea garden summerhouse, across from Fountains Hall to have a go at crafting your own piece of natural jewelry. 

Mini tree sleuth trail, 9 & 16 August, 11am-12:30pm

Find our gardeners over the rustic bridge towards the temple of Piety (look out for the signs) to do fun tasks and use clues to find different trees. 
 

Wow! I didn’t know that nature walk  

Wednesday 17 August, 2pm - 3:30pm
Learn how to identify trees and other fascinating facts about the wildlife as you walk the estate with our nature expert. Please be aware that this is a 90 minute walk across the estate which might be a struggle for little legs. 

Find the faces trail

Pick up a free trail sheet at admissions and use the map to find the faces that hide here at Fountains abbey and Studley Royal. They're everwhere if you take a moment to look! 

This children's trail will take little legs to parts of the estate they might not have visited before as part of the Joe Cornish photography exhibition Still Time to Wonder. 

Waste to Wall at Swanley Grange

8 - 19 August 10am-4pm

James Owen Thomas is an award-winning environmental artist, from Nidderdale, who turns unwanted material into something creative and unique. He has been described as “an artist with a different vision and innovative way of working” and his art has been called “truly inspiring and thought provoking”. For James, the starting point of this whole process is to collect and organise many pieces of recycled materials into a manageable form. I enjoy creating order out of disorder! James’ colourful work demonstrating his overriding philosophy of re-use, recycle, re-claim and re-sell.

James will be here talking about his artwork on Monday 8, Saturday 13, Sunday 14 and Friday 19 August in Swanley Grange. Pop in and have a peek.

Deer walk  

Sunday 24 August, 1:30-3:30pm 

Find out about our deer herd with our wildlife team who'll also be on hand to share their knowledge of other wildlife on the estate. We're afraid dogs aren’t allowed on this walk to give everyone the best chance to view the deer. 

Things to look out for...

Take a walk and let your nose lead the way as the scents summer fill the air. The world has come alive again and you'll be able to see signs of summertime all over the estate. Be sure to look out for:

• Bees buzzing - with lots of new flowers in bloom the bees are busy doing their vital job. Can you spot any bees as you walk around?  What do you notice about their favourite flowers? Do you think bees have a favourite colour? Look closely and you might see the bright orange pollen on their back legs.
• A minibeast parade - lots of insects are coming out of hibernation. Can you spot butterflies and mayflies fluttering and buzzing? Or maybe a pond skater whizzing over the surface of the ponds in the water garden? Look closely at the stonework in the abbey and you'll see that even the smallest spaces are teeming with life.
• Brand new fluffy characters - you can't miss the fluffy little cygnets and goslings enjoying their first splashes in the water garden. Be sure to give them their space as they're busy learning under mum's watchful eyes and might be easily frightened. You might be lucky enough to see some new baby deer in the Studley park too. 

Adventuring making you hungry? 

Break up your day's adventures with a stop at one of three places around the estate. Grab a cooling icecream or warming (depending on the Yorkshire weather) cup of tea at the Mill Cafe kiosk. Enjoy the view with a sandwich at Studley Royal tea-room or tuck into a good meal at the visitor centre restaurant.

Indulge in a spot of shopping

You’ll find it hard to resist our range of seasonal stock inspired by National Trust places. From beautiful silk scarves in fresh spring prints to home-ware pieces for every home. Whether you fall in love with the range of beautiful patterns or are tempted by the fresh floral scents of this season’s candles we've got plenty of inspiration available for your home.