Make the most of your family membership

A family group are exploring the Long Gallery at Osterley House, Middlesex. The long room has walls painted green, lined with paintings in gilt frames. — Visitors in the Long Gallery at Osterley Park and House, Middlesex | © National Trust Images/Rob Stothard

Want to experience more as a family this year? You don’t need to go overseas to seek adventure – there are lots of exciting things to do near you. Here are some ways to start your family’s voyage of discovery.

Walk in the footsteps of our ancestors

Discover the stories and legends of ancient people, knights in clanging armour and historical traditions. Get a taste of what life was like hundreds of years ago at many places in our care, where pockets of history are waiting to be found.

Learn about Neolithic traditions at Avebury in Wiltshire and explore the largest stone circle in the world, or step back in time to an era of Anglo-Saxon royalty at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Discover Victorian-era artefacts at Penrhyn Castle and Garden in Wales, which has many rooms to explore including the Victorian kitchens, scullery and pastry room.

Take a walk on the wild side

Your usual walk might be to your local park and back. But this year you could give your wellies a chance to explore some wild places a bit more off the beaten path.

There are waterfalls, stepping stones, natural play areas, castles and more waiting to be explored in the outdoor places we look after. Each walk is also a new opportunity to play hide-and-seek in unexplored places and spot wild animals that you might not have seen before.

Visitors exploring the gardens during the summer at Dyffryn House, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales — Visitors at Dyffryn House and Gardens, Vale of Glamorgan | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Wander through secret gardens

We look after lots of gardens for you to visit all year round. Experience nature first hand when you discover mini-beasts in places full of interesting plants and trees.

There are even mini-gardens within gardens, like the one at Castle Drogo in Devon, which has a hidden Wendy house with its own miniature garden, built for the Drewe family's youngest daughter.

Befriend a sea creature

The coast is a prime spot for adventure at any time of the year. If you seek out a good rock pool, you might just find a hidden world of underwater creatures.

At St Helens Duver on the Isle of Wight, you can explore crevices filled with whelks, barnacles and even the occasional seahorse. And no day at the coast would be complete without building a sandcastle.

Visitors on paths through parkland at Nostell, Yorkshire | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

Make every day an adventure

There’s no need to wait for holidays or big days out to start your adventures. ‘50 things to do before you're 11¾’ has all kinds of activities that can fit into any day of the week, rain or shine. Explore inside a tree, make friends with a bug or go on a scavenger hunt at your local National Trust place.

Looking for wildlife is easy at places like Florence Court in County Fermanagh, where you can spot butterflies, frogs and perhaps even a woodpecker along its selection of woodland trails.

If you’re taking on some of the more adventurous family activities, such as stargazing, you'll need to find the right spot. Allen Banks and Staward Gorge in Northumberland has a low level of light pollution, making it a fantastic place to discover the night sky.

Make some wild art

The places we look after are great spots for collecting natural materials for your arts and crafts. Use discarded sticks and leaves from trees in woodlands, petals you can find on the ground in gardens and seashells from the coast to make wild art.