Family-friendly things to do at Acorn Bank

Planning your family visit

• Nature toolkits can be collected at the Shepherds Hut - more information about the toolkits can be found below

• Please note, on 14 and 15 September, there will be a reduced offer from the café in the courtyard, with no hot food. There will be pre-packed sandwiches on offer, with gluten free and vegan options, as well as the usual homemade cake and hot and cold drinks selection

• Apple Tasting Weekends are running each weekend in September and October
• The garden team will be juicing the harvest on 29 October - come along and see the hydropress in action
• Wellies can be borrowed from the Shepherds Hut
• On Tuesdays during the school holidays, you'll find light refreshments bering served at the mill
• Baby-changing facilities are located just off the courtyard
• Pushchairs and baby back-carriers admitted
• The second-hand bookshop in the Drawing Room of the house has plenty of children’s books

Picnics

If you'd like to bring a picnic, there are plenty of spots to sit and enjoy it, as well as picnic blankets

• There is an accessible picnic table behind the House, at the edge of the staff carpark
• There are picnic benches at the edge of the woodland - turn left after the Shepherd's Hut and you'll see them next to the path
• There are lots of peaceful spots in the gardens, particularly in the Top Orchard
• If the weather is wet, you can picnic indoors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Family-friendly things to do on the estate

Geocaching

Have a go at geocaching, with six caches hidden across the parkland at Acorn Bank, each with a small treasure to find inside. Can you locate them all? Some may not be immediately obvious – so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled!

'50 things to do before you’re 11¾'

The woodland around Acorn Bank and the garden are perfect for ticking off a few items from the '50 things to do before you’re 11¾' list.

• No. 1 Get to know a tree: we’d recommend the ‘Twisted Sister’ – the huge copper beech tree on your right as the house and café courtyard are on your left – or the magical Dalston Oak out on the estate
• No. 4 Build a den: there's plenty of space to build dens in the woodland, with branches, leaves and mud
• No. 6 Go welly wandering: much as we love the sunshine when it comes, we're very used to rain at Acorn Bank - it's a great excuse to jump in puddles, squelch in mud and have fun out on the estate or in the woods
• No. 10 Play conkers: scour the woodland for conkers that have dropped from the trees and play a game of conkers
• No. 18 Create some wild art: after a walk on the estate or in the woods, use leaves, pinecones, seeds, feathers and flowers to craft a masterpiece
• No. 33 Go cloud watching: on a sunny day, lie back in a peaceful spot in the garden- we recommend the Top Orchard - and watch the clouds go by
• No. 34 Look out for wild animal clues: whilst you’re down at the watermill – otter tracks can often be seen in the soft mud next to the beck
• No. 35 Discover what’s in a pond: a perfect one to tick off whilst you’re newt spotting
• No. 44 Watch a bird: head to the wildlife hide to see what's visiting, or wander along the beck to spot abundant birdlife - record it on the spotter sheets in your nature toolkit, which you can collect from the Shepherds Hut
• No. 48 Keep a nature diary: keep a record of your adventures in the garden, woodland and parkland and the wildlife you've seen

Borrow a nature toolkit

Discover more about nature here in the gardens and out on the estate by borrowing a free toolkit available from the Shepherd’s Hut when you arrive. Toolkits include a variety of spotter sheets, magnifying glasses, mirrors to look underneath things, tape measures and clickers.

Beepot garden trail

Follow the pots around the garden to find out which plants help out our fuzzy friends the most, and which you might be able to grow at home.

Things to do on a rainy day

There are lots of fun things to get stuck into even if the weather isn’t on your side.

• Head down to the watermill on Saturdays and Sundays to see live demonstrations
• See what you can spot from the shelter of the bird hide in the woods
• Browse in the second-hand bookshop
• In the Dovecote, listen to a a soundscape of nature recordings taken on the estate

Alongside these regular activities are seasonal events - please keep an eye on our events page for the latest information about what's on when you visit.