Family-friendly things to do at Hinton Ampner

A family exploring the pumpkin trail at Hinton Ampner, Hampshire — Autumn at Hinton Ampner, Hampshire | © National Trust Images/Sophie Bolesworth

There's lots of family fun to be had at Hinton Ampner. From running, chasing in the garden and wider estate, to nature trails, there's something for everyone.

Back view of small girl in navy sparkly dress and gold witch's hat, on lawn, generic — Girl in witches outfit in the gardens | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

Pumpkin displays

Saturday 12 October – Monday 4 November

Jump into autumn with a splash of colour and find our gourd-geous pumpkin displays around our gardens. There will be over 200 pumpkins in different displays and lots of photo opportunities. Can you spot the biggest pumpkin?

Halloween Potions trail with Wilma the Witch

Saturday 19 October – Monday 4 November

Double, double toil and trouble… Stir the cauldron and watch it bubble!

Hidden in the spookiest corners of Hinton Ampner's gardens are the ingredients Wilma needs for her magic potion. You'll need to race on your broomstick, toss a ring onto the witch's hat, move your pet spider through the maze and more to complete the challenge and make the potion!

Trails are £2, normal admission fee applies

Children's spotter books in the house

Inside the house you'll find 'eye-spy' booklets for children to search for treasures, images and objects within our collection. A great way to engage little ones with the history and art you can find inside Hinton Ampner House. Please ask one of our volunteers at the house entrance hall and do return the booklet to us when you are done.

Looking ahead to Christmas

With those wintry days drawing closer, the festive season is on its way. Join us this year for An Enchated Christmas - a day packed with adventure. Our house will be filled with beautifully decorated trees, twinkling lights and festive scenes. Outside the gardens will be decorated with Nordmann trees, beautiful lights and lots of photo opportunities.

We will also have lots of activities for families. From elf spotting and a sensory elf house for tiny tots to outdoor elf games for older children, there are lots of opportunities to blow off some energy with us. No visit would be complete without a visit to our cafe for a festive treat where we also have menu items for children.

A woman in a pale grey winter coat and beret crouching down to look at a Christmas tree with a young girl in a black long sleeved top and gold dres — Visitors enjoying Christmas decorations at Hinton Ampner | © National Trust Images/Megan Taylor

Family walks on the Hinton Ampner estate

Stewkeley walk

The Stewkeley walk takes you across the Hinton Ampner estate towards the village of Kilmeston, before looping back to the entry of the estate. This moderately strenuous walk is perfect for walkers of any age and skill level. It's just under two miles and takes around an hour to complete.

Stewkeley walk

Ancient tree trail

The parkland at Hinton Ampner is home to many ancient trees, some with rather quirky characteristics. You can find out more about spotting the ancient trees by downloading the guide.

Follow this guide

'50 things to do before you're 11¾'

There are lots of ’50 things' challenges you can complete with the whole family at Hinton Ampner. Here's a few recommendations:

No. 1 Get to know a tree: If trees could talk, what stories would they tell? Get up close to a tree and feel the texture of its bark and leaves and notice all the different colours and smells. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
No. 12 Have fun with sticks: When it comes to sticks, the possibilities are endless. Use them to become a gallant warrior, make a magic wand, create a home for a small animal or insect or create some wild art. There are lots of interesting sticks to find in the Hinton Ampner estate and parkland
No. 33 Go cloud watching: With a little imagination you can create whole worlds from the shapes you see in the clouds. Do they resemble anything, like animals, trees or cartoon characters? Invent a story using the characters you see in the clouds. Try writing your story down or drawing it on a sketchpad
No. 44 Watch a bird: There are many different birds that can be spotted in the gardens and woodland at Hinton Ampner. Birds get frightened off easily, so you'll need to be as quiet as you can, and not make any loud noises or sudden movements to stand the best chance of seeing lots.

Planning your family visit

If you're planning a visit to Hinton Ampner with the family, here is some useful information

Buggies and puschairs are welcome throughout the whole property including house, gardens and cafe. However, on particularly busy times access to the house may be restricted to enable people to safely navigate around the rooms. Whilst we try to provide a space for buggies or pushchairs to be stored if we cannot cater them in the house, our space is limited and can only be accommodated for on a first-come first-served basis.