The girls announced at breakfast that it was Spring (1st March) and that we needed to go out for a picnic. Whilst the sun was shining we thought a picnic was a little adventurous, so we packed some snacks and drove over to Erddig, near Wrexham. We joined the National Trust last year as a result of a trip to Speke Hall so I imagine a lot of our days out this year will feature a National Trust property or two.  It is such good value and they really seem to have embraced families visiting with children.  To find a national trust property near you that someone has reviewed simply type National Trust into our search page.
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The (muddy) car park is very close to the main entrance and whilst we don’t have a buggy anymore we saw lots of families arriving with buggies to take advantage of the flat wide walkways around the gardens. Â We made our way from the car park into the courtyard and started our adventure.
The gardens are stunning even at this time of year and we spent ages just pottering round;
playing with the old hats;
and having a snack in a lovely little cottage at one end of the gardens.
They were all having such a good time, but then we found the Wolf Den!
When we went in the gentleman who scanned our cards, told us to head straight there and how right he was. At first glance this area is just a collection of cut down trees, but they have done a fantastic job. We literally spent 2 hours just in this area. There was so much to do:
and climbing, jumping, swinging – getting braver and braver and giving me heart failure! Â This little video shows what they got up to in this area!
Had the rain not started to fall I think we could have spent even longer in this den. There was a whole wood behind this area we didn’t even look at, never mind explore; but the rain really did start to get heavy and it was pretty cold, so we went into the house. Â As with many National Trust properties early in the year, the house was only open for a few hours. In fact it was actually only the servant quarters. Â We didn’t spend too much time exploring because it was really lunchtime, but the girls spent a little while trying to locate the little teddy bears in each room (they were tiny, and it was quite dark) and it was actually quite hard.
We had taken snacks but not a full picnic which is actually quite unusual for us, but we were very glad to be able to go and sit in the restaurant and warm up.  Two of the girls had a snack box into which you could put 5 items for £4.20, and the other had beans on toast (which hubby balked at paying £3.85 for).  I thought the snack box was good value though.  The restaurant also had a collection of games to keep little ones entertained, lots of high chairs, and a microwave and bottle warmer for baby milk/food.
When it was time to leave (so hubby could get back to watch the Rugby) there was some sad faces around. Â We wandered back past the memory tree and added our favourite memories of Erddig. Â All three chose the Wolf Den – no surprise there.
We did giggle though when the car got stuck in the mud in the car park! Thankfully some kind visitors helped push us out so we could get home. Never a dull moment!
For another review of Erddig, click here to see the review Jess wrote.
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.
Ah it looks so lovely there Karen, Joe would love the food section and the grounds look stunning xx
Your girls are super cute and it looks like a great day out! When we lived over that way we always intended to go and never made it, just Chirk Castle but I’m must get NT membership to make us visit more places xx
what a gorgeous place. I have never heard of it but joining the national trust seems like a great idea and what a lovely way to celebrate the first day of spring 🙂
What a beautiful place – how neat are those hedgerows!! Looks like a fab time was had by all – love the cheeky grin
We were gifted the national trust passes from hubbys parents last autumn, so we will be doing the same. The wolf den looks great fun, I think this will be on our to do list this year too. Although, im not sure about getting the car stuck in the mud….
What a fab gift!
Haha! Stuck in the mud- oops!
What a fab place! Can you imagine living in such a big house?
looks like a fab place to play and your girls are gorgeous. We Love the National Trust too x
Erddig looks such a beautiful place. I love national trust properties. We always have so much fun when visiting them.
That looks lovely – I’ve just got National Trust membership too, and while we’re not too near Erddig, I do love the way they’ve made so many properties reallly family-friendly. We’re slowly ticking off their 50 things list, but they do often seem to have little items to spot in the houses and loads of outdoor activities too – and good cake! #traveltales
I think we will probably be life long NT members – the membership is such fantastic value for money! Love the look of this property – lots of grass to run about on, den building and obstacle courses – what more could you ask for?
Thanks for linking to #traveltales – I’ve pinned this post to our pinterest board. Hope to see you next month 😀 – Sam x
That looks a great NT property, love the look of the Den (that wolf carving is really cool!).
I actually have family up near Wrexham and have even seen Erddig on the road signs. Next time I visit I’ll have try and pop along to check it out 🙂