Family-friendly things to do at Acorn Bank

If you're planning to visit us this summer, it's worth nothing that from Monday 21 July 2025, we'll now be open five days a week, welcoming visitors from Thursday through to Monday. We've chosen these days as we know from visitor data that they are the most popular and when the majority of people want to visit. Our opening hours remain the same, from 10.30am until 5pm, with the cafe closing at 3.30pm.

We want everyone to feel welcome at Acorn Bank - our access page has accessibility information which will help you to get the most out of your visit.

Pushchairs and baby back-carriers are admitted.

The second-hand bookshop in the Drawing Room of the house has plenty of children’s books.

Acorn Bank’s Silent Space, part of the Silent Space initiative, can be found at the centre of the Herb Garden. Enclosed by 400-year-old walls, it’s an intimate space with a tranquil atmosphere, full of fragrance – ideal for switching off for a while, or a calm space to settle down excited children.

The café currently has a reduced offer due to staffing shortages, and opening times are subject to staff availability. You can check the opening times under the 'Opening times' tab on Acorn Bank's home page. On days when the café is closed, self-service hot drinks are available.

When open, the cafe is serving hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, scones and cakes, 10:30am-3:30pm. Please check the notice on the homepage for open dates.

If you'd like to bring a your own lunch or 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, as well as 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 to enjoy a picnic, particularly in the Top Orchard.

There are toilets near the cafe, and changing facilities for children and babies are in the courtyard, next to the Place to Change toilet.

More accessibility information can be found on Acorn Bank's access page.

We've a range of items, free to borrow, to help you make the most of your visit.

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

Wellies and picnic rugs can also be borrowed from the Shepherds Hut.

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, binoculars, magnifying glasses, tape measures, clickers, blackboards and coloured chalks.

You can also borrow wellies and picnic blankets.

Each weekend in September and October, you can taste some of the 175 varieties of apple which grow at Acorn Bank. Try a Keswick Codlin, a Howgate Wonder or even a Pitmaston Pineapple – which is actually an apple!

On 30 October, watch the impressive hydropress in action when the garden team juice some of their apple and pear harvest for you to taste.

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.

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

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