Discover more at Cotehele
Find out when Cotehele is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
Family-friendly things to do at Cotehele
Discover all the things to do on a family day out to Cotehele. Explore the garden and orchards and head out on an adventure around the estate. Find out what family-friendly events are coming up and how best to plan your day out at Cotehele with children in mind.
Planning your family visit to Cotehele
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Free entry for under 5s
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Baby-changing facilities in most toilets
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Buggy-friendly route around the garden, quay and towards Cotehele Mill
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Play area by the Cherry Orchard and at Cotehele Quay
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Children’s menu available within the Barn Cafe
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Pocket money gifts and children’s books available in the shop and second-hand bookshop
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Resource station within Visitor Welcome with fidget toys, ear defenders, sunglasses, and colouring sheets available to borrow
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Please take extra care around Cotehele Quay, the pond dipping area at the quay and the ponds within the Upper Garden and Valley Garden.
'We’re Going on a Bear Hunt' at Cotehele
Saturday 19 September - Sunday 15 November
'We’re Going on a Bear Hunt' is coming to Cotehele this autumn. Get ready to swish, splashand squelch your way through the new sensory trail to find the bear. Written by Michael Rosenand illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, the much-loved bestselling picture book and award-winninganimation will be brought to life through a series of interactive installations, emulating thejourney undertaken by the family at the heart of the story.
Pick up a trail booklet from Visitor Welcome and follow in the characters’ footsteps to brave theelements. Find your way through swishy swashy grass, conquer thick oozy mud, brave swirlingwhirling snowstorms, and tiptoe through a cave in search of the bear. Don’t forget to snapphotos along the way! You can’t go over it. You can’t go under it. You’ve got to go through it!Fantastic fun for all ages, round up your friends and family and see who will be the first one tospot the bear.
The National Trust is working in collaboration with Walker Productions and Lupus Films, theproduction team behind the stunning animation based on the best-selling children’s book We’reGoing on a Bear Hunt, published by Walker Books. Over the last 30 years, We’re Going on aBear Hunt has enchanted children and parents alike with its story of perseverance, optimismand a love of nature, selling over 16.5 million books worldwide in 42 languages. Author MichaelRosen’s retelling of this classic picture book has exceeded over 25 million views on YouTube.
Free trail, normal admission applies.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt © Bear Hunt Films Ltd 2026. Licensed by Walker Productions Ltd on behalf of Bear Hunt Films Ltd.
Coming soon
Christmas through the Decades Family Trail
21 November 2026 - 5 January 2027 , 10am-4pm
Explore how Christmas has been celebrated during the past 70 years of the Cotehele Christmas Garland.
Learn about a 1950s Christmas dinner in a post-rationing Britain, discover the most popular toy of the 1960s, open the Cotehele Advent Calendar or create your own Christmas Advert with this family-friendly Christmas trail.
The activites are free of charge, but normal admission applies for the venue.
What else to look out for at Cotehele
Terrific Textiles spotters trail at Cotehele
Available daily from 11 July - 1 November, 11am-4pm
Explore the house and see if you can find the objects, animals and figures hidden within the tapestries and textiles at Cotehele. Pick up your trail sheet from the hall within the house when you enter and hand it back to the volunteer for a sticker prize.
This activity comes at no extra cost. Normal admission applies.
50 things to do before you’re 11¾
Cotehele is the perfect place for ticking off some of your ’50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾.’ There are plenty of things to try at Cotehele, whatever the weather. Here are just a few:
No. 4 Build a den
Gather large sticks and create a secret hideaway. Our favourite spot for building dens is by the Cherry Orchard play area.
No. 33 Go cloud watching
With imagination you can create whole worlds from the shapes you see in the sky. Any spot at Cotehele is great for doing this, we like lying on the grass slopes by the bowling green.
No. 48 Keep a nature diary
Bring along some scrap paper and colouring pencils and keep a diary of the things you have discovered. What did you touch? What can you hear? Draw the wildlife you spotted on your adventures around Cotehele.
You might also be interested in
Visiting Cotehele's garden
Take a stroll around the 5.5 hectares of Cotehele's garden where you’ll discover terraced herbaceous borders, a lily pond as well as a medieval stewpond and dovecote.
Exploring the Cotehele estate
There's lots to discover at the Cotehele estate. Miles of pathways lead you through ancient woodland, past a historic chapel, and to an important Victorian quay.
Family-friendly places around Cornwall
With long stretching beaches, exotic gardens and historic houses in Cornwall, there are lots of places to explore and visit for family fun.
Eating and shopping at Cotehele
Tuck into a cream tea at one of Cotehele’s cafés, find an eco-friendly gift or plant at the shop, and discover local artists at The Bull Pen Gallery.
Family-friendly places to visit
Looking for a family day out that'll keep everyone entertained? Find things to do with the kids at the places we care for near you.
