Visit Nostell this summer

Cycling at Nostell Priory and Parkland West Yorkshire

Summer is one of our favourite seasons at Nostell, the gardens are in full bloom and the longer, warmer days are perfect for picnics and outdoor adventures. There’s so much for you to get stuck into during the school holidays. Join us for outdoor theatre, adventures in nature, and family activities throughout the summer.

Summer Evenings

This summer you can enjoy the great British tradition of outdoor theatre at its very best when you join us on 6 and 7 July for an evening performance that’s not to be missed.

The Duke’s Theatre Company will be bringing their new adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, featuring live music, beautiful designs and true theatrical magic.

Outdoors Theatre Poster with man and woman in period costume. A Midsummer Nights Dream. — A Midsommer Nights Dream at Nostell this July.

Tickets for this comic fairy tale are £20 for adults, £18 concession (under 16s and over 65) and are available to book now.

Come out and play

Get active as a family todgether on the vista in front of the house, as you’re invited to come out and play every Thursday and Friday in the summer Hhlidays, between 11am and 3pm.

Get your hearts pumping, your muscles moving and challenge family and friends with football, sports races, throwing challenges, balancing games and more.

All the activities will have fully accessible versions available for adventures of all abilities.

Quiet Hours

There will also be quiet hours for those families who want to get active in a less busy environment. Join the team on Thursday 4 Aug at 5pm-6pm and Thursday 25 Aug at 9am-10am. If you would like more information, please email us at nostell@nationaltrust.org.uk

Game of cricket as part of Summer of Sport

Play and explore amongst the trees

As always, young adventurers can jump, swing and slide in the newly refreshed woodland adventure play area. Let them loose on the zip wire through the tress – it’s a whopping 30 foot long!

Head into Joiner’s Wood and let your imagination run free as you get creative and build a cosy little hideout in the woods. Den building is the perfect summer pass time for little kids, big kids and those of us who are still kids at heart.

Test your cycle skills as you explore the woodland on two 1km bike-only trails, designed with families in mind or take a leisurely stroll along shady paths and woodland trails and discover the majesty of the historic obelisk lodge on a summer stroll to the edge of the parkland.

A family in the pleasure grounds at Nostell Priory and Parkland, Yorkshire — A family in the pleasure grounds at Nostell

Geocaching

At Nostell, there are loads of caches hidden across the West Yorkshire parkland, stretching from Obelisk Lodge to Engine Wood. Up for a family outdoor adventure? See how many you can find.

Find out more about it in this feature.

Cycling events

Bring your bike and join the Wakefield District Cycle Forum event on the vista every Wednesday in the school holidays between 11am and 3pm. These free events are run by volunteers and include cycle skills courses, bicycle safely and health checks, basic maintenance classes as well as information and advice stalls.

A limited number of bikes are available to borrow for these events. There is no charge but bikes must be booked in advance by emailing rides@cycling-wakefield.org.uk

Family pause from cycle ride beside a lake on a sunny day — Bring your bike to Nostell this summer

Kids eat free

Over the summer holidays, children can eat for free. Spend £5 in the café to get a free kids' lunch box and let them enjoy a delicious lunch full of tasty treats.
Terms and conditions
1. A £5 spend in a single transaction in the café qualifies for one free kids' lunch box for a child aged 12 or under.
2. One free ‘kids' lunch box’ per £5 spend.
3. £5 spend excludes kids' lunch boxes.
4. A ‘kids' lunch box’ includes kids' sandwich, piece of fruit, kids' drink, kids' crisps and kids' flapjack worth a total of £4.75.
5. Offer available in the following National Trust cafés only – the Villano Café on Brownsea Island, Wharf Tearoom at Bodiam Castle and Courtyard outlets at Nostell.
6. Subject to availability.
7. Offer valid dates: Monday 1 August 2022 – Sunday 21 August 2022, inclusive.

A home full of history

Discover a window into times gone by this summer with a visit to the treasure house, open Wednesday to Sunday inclusive and bank holidays. Enjoy following in the footsteps of the Georgians, Victorians and generations past, hearing about the secrets of the house and letting your imagination unravel with a visit to the Dolls' House – a mansion in miniature.

Gardens bursting with colour

The gardens are a spectacle of colour at this time of year and offer a place of peace and relaxation. Breathe in the scent of the roses and watch the bees and the butterflies flit and buzz amongst the blooms.  

The longer, warmer days ripen an abundance of fruit and vegetables, including our famous rhubarb (19 varieties), apples, heritage pears, herbs and giant onions.

A favourite photo spot lies in the fruit quadrant beneath the canopy of enormous leaves adorning our ever-popular banana palm, happily growing tall in tropical climes of West Yorkshire.

Children playing in the Rose Garden at Nostell, near Wakefield — Explore the sights, sounds and scents of summer at Nostell

We’ve a Changing Places toilet in the courtyard and there's a baby change and accessible toilet in the house.

Get ready to stretch those legs and spotting summer flowers as soon as you arrive, as it's a ten minute walk from the car park to the courtyard and facilities. There's a blue badge car park near the stables courtyard and a lift in the house to access the first floor.