Family-friendly things to do at Avebury

Planning your family visit

 

• Free entry for under 5s

• Baby-changing facilities available

• Children’s menu available at Circle Café

• Pocket money gifts and children’s books available in the shop

• Picnic tables in the Old Farmyard

October half-term at Avebury

If you’re looking for some fresh air and family fun, we’ve got plenty lined up for younger visitors during the October half-term.

 

Spotter trail in the garden

Head to Avebury Manor Garden to take part in a nature spotter trail.

Ten painted birds have been hidden around the 'rooms' of the garden and there is a small prize on offer to anyone who can find them all. 

Pick up a map to follow from visitor reception, before heading to the garden to explore the different spaces and track down our hidden birds.

The trail is free, but normal garden admission applies. 

Explorer backpacks for nature lovers

You can borrow one of our explorer backpacks from the garden gate.

These include binoculars or magnifying glasses, spotter sheets and bug bingo cards to help identify the insects, animals, butterflies and plants in Avebury Manor Garden.

Family henge tours 

If you would like learn more about the henge and stone circles, you can join a guided tour for families. 

Led by our volunteer guides, the family tours look at the history of Avebuy and present the information in an engaging way for younger visitors

The family tours will take place on Wednesday 29 October at 11:30am and 1:30pm, and Sunday 2 November at 1pm. 

Tickets are £3 per child (accompanying adults are free) and can be booked from visitor reception in the barn. 

Mixed-reality experiences: Ages of Avebury

We have a new mixed-reality adventure for any keen gamers to try out for free this half-term. 

Dive into the past by downloading Ages of Avebury on your phone in the barn. The game involves becoming a surveyor and searching for hidden stones, uncovering the mystery of a missing archaeologist. 

The downloadable app will also let you see an augmented reality version of Avebury. 

Indoor activities in the barn

We will also have colouring activities available on our children’s table in the barn, where you can also ‘build your own’ neolithic palisades on our new magnetic table.

 

Avebury Henge and Stone Circles

4,500 years ago, people living here built the largest stone circle in the world, with two smaller circles within it* and dug a 9m deep bank and ditch around the outer one.

You can enter the stone circle, touch the stones (but don’t climb), walk all the way around it, and take a walk along West Kennet Avenue, one of the two stone rows that led to (or from) the circles.

The stones is enclosed by fences, but be careful crossing the roads. Most of the year there are sheep grazing the grass.

*Stonehenge would fit within one of these smaller circles.

Avebury Manor Garden 

The garden at Avebury Manor is organised into a series of 'rooms', each with it's own character. Take your time to explore or simply take a seat and enjoy the sights and scents around you.

Explorer backpacks, containing spotter sheets, books, and binoculars are available to borrow from the garden gate. We also have garden games and blankets available in the Church Garden. 

A sensory map for children is also available to pick up and follow from the garden gate.

Perfect for neurodivergent visitors or younger families, you can use the free map to discover the best places to listen to the wind, smell the herbs, and look at the wildlife. 

If you are visiting with children who like wildlife, make sure you head to the Topiary Garden to spot the Great crested newts in the pond. 

Learn about Avebury in the Alexander Keiller Museum

All of the artefacts in the museum come from local excavations, many from the time of Alexander Keiller who dug at Avebury in the 1930s. Here you can find out more about the Avebury World Heritage Site and the Neolithic people who built their monument here.

Discover Avebury Manor

Avebury Manor is currently closed for repairs and restoration work following flooding in January.

You can see images from the flooding on display in the barn and we will share more information on the manor will reopening as soon as we have it.