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Family-friendly things to do at Oxburgh Estate

Woman giving child a piggyback
Family adventures at Oxburgh Estate | © National Trust / Rob Stothard

Whether you're building a den, becoming a nature explorer or searching for secret doorways, Oxburgh has plenty to keep the whole family entertained.

February Half Term at Oxburgh Estate

Our new exhibition 'A Regency Romance' is up and running inside Oxburgh Hall. The exhibition follows Agnes and Thomas Molyneux Seel from their courtship through to their year long 'grand tour' honeymoon in Europe. You can learn how to waltz, follow their journey on our animated map, masquerade in your own make-believe masked ball and learn about the conservation of the two paintings that provided the inspiration for the exhibition. 

The last of the snowdrops should still be visible across the estate, including in The Wilderness and over in My Lady's Wood - an area that visitors haven't been able to visit during snowdrop season for a number of years. 

There will also be some simple craft activities available in The Gun Room, inspired by the current season.

The tearoom will be open throughout serving a whole host of tasty snacks, lunches and of course scones. There are plenty of hot drinks to choose from to help warm you up after a winters stroll too!

And of course, the Courtyard Gift Shop will be open also. Please be sure to check our opening times on the homepage before planning your visit Oxburgh Estate | Norfolk | National Trust

 

Planning your family visit 

  • Baby-changing facilities are available on site.
  • There are plenty of buggy-friendly paths around the outdoors, a site map is available from Visitor Welcome.
  • Due to the size of the rooms within Oxburgh Hall, we kindly ask that where possible, buggies and prams are left outside at the entrance and not taken inside.

 

Become a wildlife explorer

Ignite your childs curiosity and explore Oxburgh with one of our wildlife explorer backpacks. Filled with activities, tools and other fun items. Backpacks are free to borrow from the Visitor Welcome team. 

 

Kitchen Garden and Orchard

A garden of two halves, the walled garden is where you’ll find the orchard and kitchen garden, which would have originally supplied the resident family. See if you can spot the courgettes, pumpkins, rhubarb, tomatoes, and salad crops that are still grown for visitors to enjoy in the tea-room. 

Within the orchard you’ll find fruit trees from around East Anglia, including heritage varieties from Norfolk. How many different varieties of apple you can spot?

 

Dress up and learn in the Gun Room

Learn about our epic roof restoration project in the Gun Room where you can dress up as a builder and build your very own Oxburgh Estate.

You can also make friends with a death watch beetle and hear the noise that gives them their name.

 

'50 things to do before you are 9 3/4'

Fancy building a den, identifying pond creatures, watching a butterfly grow or stargazing? With our '50 things' activity guide you can plan an adventure, discover facts about nature and learn new skills. 

We've a few ideas to get you started.  

  • No. 4 Build a den: Explore the woodland at Oxburgh Estate, where you’ll find plenty of sticks for building your den. Be creative with your construction. Once it’s up, crawl in and have fun
  • No. 19 Play Pooh sticks: The River Gadder flows through the estate which is where you’ll find several wooden bridges, all of which make an ideal spot to challenge a sibling to this timeless game
  • No. 31 Make friends with a bug: Ladybirds, spiders, caterpillars, woodlice – there are all kinds of mini-beasts hiding at the places we look after. See how many you can find.

Staying safe

Please note that Oxburgh Estate is a moated property and extra care is needed around this body of water.

Young visitor who is a wheelchair user views a map of Oxburgh Estate
Accessibility at Oxburgh Estate | © KL Magazine

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