3 Child Friendly National Trust Sites Near Chester

Chirk Castle
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I’ve joined in with some other bloggers to showcase English Tourism Week and I’ve put together three suggestions for things to do near Chester.  You can also check out all the other wonderful ideas using the links at the bottom of this post.

For us buying our National Trust membership last year has been one of the best things we have ever done.  We use it all the time, and now you can pay monthly by direct debit it really doesn’t feel like it costs too much money!

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Here are three National Trust places (within an hour of Chester) that we visit all the time!

Chirk Castle, Nr Wrexham Wales

Chirk Castle

The first time we visited Chirk Castle we immediately loved it.  There is an area to build dens with logs, twigs and trees.  There is a ‘Castle’ built with logs, dens with chairs in, a log sea-saw, and adventure stepping stones.  The girls would have been pleased if we had just stopped there.

There is a decent sized playground and in the school holidays there is usually craft activities of some sort taking place in the courtyard. When we went at halloween the girls carved pumpkins. Check out the National Trust website for activities at Easter.

The Castle itself is a ten minute walk up hill (with toddlers) maybe five without. You can also get a mini bus up which runs at very regular intervals.  The National Trust has really upped its game in the last few years and have started to make their visitor attractions much more interactive for children.  There are toy wolves in each room.  It makes all the rooms really interesting for them, and keeps children engaged. A simple idea it works.  In some rooms there is also fancy dress to play with.

There was also a family room at the top of a tower where children can do some colouring, make jigsaws (of knights naturally) and build a castle.

The formal gardens right next to the Castle also lead onto some fantastic landscaped gardens, with woodland walks, a pergola and beautiful flowers.

Erddig, Nr Wrexham Wales

Erdigg

The gardens are stunning at all times of year and you can spend ages just pottering round them with children.  There is fancy dress along the way for them to play with and some cottages and dens.

However the main attraction at Erddig for children is the Wolf Den.  At first glance this area is just a collection of cut down trees, but they have done a fantastic job turning this into an adventure playground. You can see more from this video.

There are teddy bears to find within the house and a lovely cafe which does great food for kids too.

Speke Hall, Liverpool

Speke Hall

A set of binoculars is given to the kids when they arrive and you are encouraged to go on a walk to see what you can find. There is a variety of different length walks.

There is a den in the woods with lots of activities for the kids to play with including a zip wire.

The house has lots of fancy dress in different rooms and the volunteers at Speke are lovely with the children. Really engaging.

In the gardens near the main entrance there is also a Maze which looks really easy but actually isn’t and takes a little more thought than you might think, and a decent sized play area with slides and climbing frames.

Sam from North East Family Fun shares her top three English Heritage properties to visit with kids featuring Stonehenge, Bolsover Castle and Hadrian’s Wall http://www.northeastfamilyfun.co.uk/2016/03/Child-friendly-destinations-to-visit-in-England.html

Helen at Actually Mummy tells us about three great days out for families in London.

http://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/2016/02/27/travel-great-places-to-visit-in-england/

Ting from My Travel Monkey looks back at her top three favourite National Trust’s sites in the South East of England, which not only combine majestic historic houses, but breathtaking gardens and landscapes. Fantastic day outs for the whole family. http://wp.me/p5pUzm-37V

From castles to yurts, over on A Residence Penny shares three awesome places to stay with the family in Warwick, Somerset and the Lake Districthttp://www.wayfair.co.uk/aresidence/2016/03/04/uk-places-to-visit/

Sarah from Extraordinary Chaos shares her favourite educational but fun family days out. Featuring Warwick Castle, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Blists Hill Victorian Town http://extraordinarychaos.com/2016/03/great-educational-but-fun-places-to-visit-in-england.html

Jane from Practically Perfect Mums shows off three fabulously family friendly places to stay in the South West of England and they’re all spacious enough to accommodate a family of five!  http://practicallyperfectmums.co.uk/fab-family-friendly-places-to-visit-in-england

Yorkshire Girl, Jo Addison, shares her favourite family days out in her home county http://www.kiddieholidays.co.uk/3-of-our-favourite-family-friendly-days-out-in-yorkshire/

Over at Mums do travel, Gretta focuses on South East England in her post about the attractions of London, Kent and the Isle of Wight. http://wp.me/p2dfvd-1MR

Erin from Yorkshire Tots shares three family adventure trails in Yorkshire where you can follow in the ‘footsteps’ of Stickman, re-tell the story of the Room on the Broom, and enjoy tunnels slides, bridges and beams on an amazing welly walk.  http://www.yorkshiretots.com/family-adventure-walks-in-yorkshire

Cathy at MummyTravels heads to the coast with three of her favourite family-friendly seaside attractions in Devon, Cornwall and Brighton, including the chance to spot giant octopus and be an Elizabethan explorer. http://wp.me/p70eJq-3T6

Alison, Helen, Penny and Katie pick three of their favourite cool places to take kids, glamp at the zoo,  hire a beach hut or be an outlaw in Sherwood Forest. http://spaceinyourcase.com/inspirations/england-with-kids/

 

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Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!

Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.

11 thoughts on “3 Child Friendly National Trust Sites Near Chester”

  1. What great photos! I think I am going to ask grandma for a National Trust membership next year as she is always looking for something practical to get us. My kids would LOVE the wolf den!

    Reply
  2. Love that adventure playground, NT places are the best! I need to go back to Cheshire and take my kids to the one we got married in – Quarry Bank Mill, and take in some of these too!

    Reply
  3. The grounds at all the properties look beautiful. Despite having a full membership we often just enjoy the gardens. Love all the pink wellies – bit jealous of those actually! #threeboys

    Reply
  4. I do love the National Trust – so many amazing places to visit and there’s some great trails and activities for kids, like the bear spotting in the house and the adventure playground. It always amazes me just how many places there are – and we’re plotting our Easter Egg hunt too.

    Reply
  5. I love National Trust sites – they always seem to think of something lovely for the children, and they’re so well done. Never been to any of these, I’m always astonished by how many there are! Will make an effort to get to some more.

    Reply
  6. The stories of the places we look after bring the past alive for children and adults alike. Whether your kids are studying the Tudors, Victorians or the World Wars, here are the places to visit.

    Reply

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