Make the most of the longer days, summer nights, warmer weather, and quality time together as a family with the National Trust’s Summer of Play.
Discover a whole host of ways to play, with events, activities, games, and crafts on offer from the National Trust this summer. Get active and have a go at sports and garden games, with archery, croquet, athletics, ball sports and plenty more to spark your competitive side. Explore and play in nature with wild art, bug-hunting, and pond dipping, enjoy performance play with storytelling and dress-up sessions and get crafty with art workshops and craft making. With a range of activities and events at each National Trust place, there’s something to make everyone’s summer day out special.
Here we’ve rounded up some of the best and most exciting National Trust events and activities to keep the whole family busy this summer.
Clumber Park (Worksop)
22 July – 4 September
The whole family will want to spend the day on the Front Field at Clumber this summer, with 5 exciting play zones, jam-packed with activities to suit every age and every interest.
Burn off some energy in the Active Zone with football, badminton, hockey, tennis, rounders and a run track.
If creativity is your thing, head to the Creative Zone with opportunities to do chalk art, paint a pebble, tell stories and engage in imaginative games.
Are you a nature-lover? Get hands on in the Nature Zone, where you can explore with our accessible dig beds and mud kitchen and have fun in the sand pit. Or, for some quiet time, head into the sensory tent to wind down.
Filled with dramatic flair? The Performance Zone is calling you to the stage! Dress up and put on a play in the theatre area, or how about pretending to be a member of Clumber Park’s staff or run your own store?
If it’s all just about playing, the Loose Parts Zone is a treasure trove for the imagination. From building blocks to pipe play, and fossil digging to den building.
There’ll also be a straw bale maze to get lost in, led multi-sports sessions to take part in, with axe throwing and archery to have a go at too. With refreshments and snacks on hand, and shaded areas to relax in, Clumber Park’s Summer of Play is one that you won’t want to miss!
Find out more at: Events at Clumber Park (nationaltrust.org.uk)
Clumber Park (Worksop)
Pack a picnic and join us on the Parsonage Lawn, in front of the lake, for an evening of literary classics.
Friday 28 July at 18.30, Quantum Theatre presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Shakespeare’s classic comedy of love and intrigue, magic and mayhem, is brought to life by family favourites Quantum Theatre in their wonderfully funny and exuberant production
Friday 11 August at 18.30, Heartbreak Productions present Sense & Sensibility.
The social season is upon us! Don your finery, partake in the ups and downs of Regency romance and settle in for this literary classic with a Heartbreak twist.
Friday 25 August at 18.30, Heartbreak Productions present MacHamLear.
Heartbreak Productions invites you to ‘MacHamLear’, a farcical piece of new writing from award-winning playwright Michael Davies that shamelessly exploits the genius of England’s most celebrated writer
The Workhouse and Infirmary (Southwell)
22 July – 3 September
Enjoy summer games to play with the whole family on the large field in front of The Workhouse, including badminton, swing ball and wheelbarrow races and even hook a duck. Pick up a deterioration detective trail to weave around the buildings and help the Workhouse conservation team spot signs of damage. Trails £2 each. On Thursdays and Saturdays throughout August there will be ‘Workhouse: Live!’ where there are opportunities to meet costumed characters and find out what life was like at The Workhouse. Write on a slate, help with the washing, learn to pick oakum and listen to stories as you encounter the inmates doing their daily jobs. Head up the top floor of The Workhouse to find a new textile exhibition and on Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 August there is a Florence Nightingale Exhibition hosting a range of pop-up activities such as craft, games and dressing. Explore Florence Nightingale’s life and legacy designed for the whole family to enjoy. Normal admission charges apply. Last admission one hour before closing.
Find out more at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-workhouse
Posted on 06 June 2023
