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Things to do with family at The Firs

A woman and a child stand together in a wooded area, surrounded by colorful autumn leaves on the ground.
Family days out at The Firs | © Chris Lacey

Spend time surrounded by musical inspiration in the pretty cottage and garden at The Firs and make music with instruments in the sound garden.

Planning your family visit

  • Baby changing facilities in the Visitor Centre.
  • Highchairs are available in Little Al’s Kitchen.
  • Please be aware you need to cross a bridleway to get to the cottage and cottage gardens.

The gardens

There’s a whole world of outdoor adventures waiting for you!

Wander into our enchanting woodland glade where fairies flutter and giant’s roam. Take a seat on the giant’s chair or build your very own fairy kingdom—let your imagination run wild!

Ready to make some noise? Join the woodland band and jam out on our wooden drumkit and sound wall. Then stroll beneath our beautiful tree-lined pagoda and discover three amazing instruments:

  • The vertical xylophone
  • The hammock xylophone
  • The metallic swirl

Each one is ready to help you create magical tunes!

We’ve got the instruments—you bring the creativity. Come play, explore, and let nature inspire your next adventure!

Wooden outdoor instruments in the pretty cottage garden at The Firs
Sound Garden at The Firs | © National Trust

Elgar Soundscapes: Creating Musical Journeys through Nature.

Discover a musical family experience in the garden at The Firs to find the 5 ingredients needed to build musical compositions.

A composer’s job is to create musical recipes using sounds, which the orchestra performers can follow to recreate compositions.

Elgar Soundscapes is an interactive activity inspired by our Curating Elgar project, developed with over 200 participants to respond to Elgar’s story, music and connection to landscape and nature. Visit The First to have a go at creating your own musical journeys by exploring sounds within the garden and try it out in your own green spaces.

See all our events at The Firs
Photograph showing wall art of Elgar on his bicycle and taking his feet off the pedals at The Firs
Elgar on his bicycle | © Peter Young

'50 things to do before you're 11¾'

Do you know about the National Trust '50 things to do before you're 11¾'? You can tick off some of the activities while you're at The Firs; build a den, create some wild art, join natures band and much more.

Which will you take on? 

Find out more here: 50 things to do before you're 11¾ | Visit | National Trust

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