Family days out at Wightwick Manor and Gardens

Three children are running across the South Terrace lawn at Wightwick Manor. — Enjoy the fresh air at Wightwick Manor and Gardens | © National Trust/Annapurna Mellor

Come and discover family adventures at Wightwick Manor and Gardens. With seasonal activities for little explorers, our natural woodland play and lots of walks filled with nature to discover. Find out about our latest family activities and plan your day out.

What's on at Wightwick

February Half Term Crafts - Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 February, 11am - 2pm each day

Find us in our crafty gazebo outside the Gallery for some family craft fun this February half term. Have a go at some nature-based crafts and make a wise owl out of clay, and decorate it with beads and buttons.

£2 per crafter, normal admission costs apply, no booking required. Children must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult.

February Half Term Wassail with Beggars' Oak Clog - Saturday 22 February, performances at 12noon and 2pm

Join us this half term for a lively celebration of an age-old tradition! Experience the joy of wassailing, an Anglo-Saxon custom to wish health and prosperity upon fruiting trees, ensuring they "grow well and bear well" for the coming year.

The festivities will begin outside the tearoom, where the Beggars' Oak Clog Dancers from Armitage, Staffordshire, will perform traditional folk dances from the North West of England, accompanied by live music. After their vibrant performance, they’ll hand out pots and pans to everyone to bang and make noise, adding to the lively atmosphere - please feel free to bring your own if you have them!

The dancers will then lead the group onto the South Terrace of the Manor gardens and over to the Tennis Lawn cherry tree, where the traditional wassail ritual will take place. This includes whipping the tree and pouring cider as part of the ancient custom to ensure a fruitful harvest.

This event is free to take part in, normal admission costs apply, no booking required. Performances will take place at 12noon and 2pm and will last about one hour.

Two girls are working at a table under a gazebo, one is moulding clay whilst the other holds a pipe cleaner. — Crafting fun at Wightwick Manor and Gardens | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

Take part in an Easter trail

Our Easter adventures run from Saturday 12 - Monday 21 April 2025, between 10am and 5pm, with last entry at 4pm and costs £3.50 per person, so come and explore the gardens at Wightwick Manor.

At the start of your Easter trail, pick up your activity pack to find information about your traol. Find and complete the 10 activities that are hiding along the way. Bee bowling, race to build a bug and escaping the spider web maze are just some of the activities you can experience at Wightwick Manor and Gardens. Finish the trail and collect your chocolate egg (both dairy and vegan and Free From options available).

£3.50 per trail, normal admission costs apply, no booking required.

Please note that from Good Friday to Easter Monday the site will be very busy and parking may be very limited. Please arrive on foot, by public transport or car share if possible.

Three children walking through a field of daffodils, marching in line with the eldest at the front wearing cardboard bunny ears as it the youngest at the back, who is also clutching a dandelion he has picked. — Explore the gardens at Wightwick this Easter | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

Play at Wightwick

Natural woodland play area

Suitable for young and old alike (youngsters under supervision please) see the woods from a higher level on our balance log walkway, scramble over the tangle climb and stretch those legs on our stilt walk.

Ask for directions from our welcome team, or see if you can find your own way, winding around the pools and heading up into the woods.

Two young children are walking along wooden raised stilts in the woodland play at Wightwick Manor. The younger child at the back is being helped by an adult. — Test your balance in our Woodland Play | © National Trust/Annapurna Mellor

'50 things to do before you're 11¾'

While you are up in the woodland, see if you can tick off some of your '50 things to do before you're 11¾'. Why not try:

No. 4 Build a den - who can make the sturdiest hideout?
No. 12 Have fun with sticks - can you make arrows to show people the way back to the pools?
No. 18 Create some wild art - make a square frame on the ground using sticks and crate some wild art using treasure from the woodland floor.

What will you take on?

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

Family adventure pack

Our Family Adventure Packs are available all year-round from our Visitor Reception.

For £2 your pack will contain an activity booklet with games, colouring in, fun facts, things to spot and puzzles, a pencil and a pack of pencil crayons and other fun surprises!

Looking over the shoulder of a person is holding a blue activity booklet which shows images of birds and a William Morris colouring page. They are outside in the gardens at Wightwick. — Discover nature at Wightwick with our family activity pack | © National Trust/Libby Taylor

Your visit

Picnics

There are many benches around the gardens and places to put down a blanket – we welcome picnics throughout the gardens.

Please do take your rubbish home, but bins can be found by our Visitor Reception and outside of our Tearoom.

Two children are sitting at a table on the South Terrace at Wightwick Manor. They have lunchboxes and are eating sandwiches and drinking from cartons through a straw. — Find the perfect spot for a picnic | © National Trust/Lindsey Bucknor

Facilities

Baby changing facilities are located in all toilet facilities – both next to Visitor Reception and in the toilet facilities next door to the Tearoom.

Your four-legged friends are welcome on leads in all areas outdoors, with the exception of the kitchen garden. We also have a dog-friendly seating area in the stables end of our tearoom. Our reception team are also stocked up on poo bags and dog biscuits, so please do ask. Dog waste can be put into any of our general waste bins.

We kindly ask that pushchairs are left by the front door of the Manor when visiting the house – we have ‘hippy-chicks’ to borrow here so ask the attendant on the front door if you would like to borrow one.

We welcome balance bikes for under 5s, but due to the nature of the gardens, no other bikes are permitted. We also ask that ball games of all kinds, frisbees and the like, drones and kites are left in your car.