Family-friendly things to do at Stowe Gardens

Mother and daughter in the landscaped garden in autumn at Stowe, Buckinghamshire — Mother and daughter in the landscaped garden in autumn at Stowe | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

Adventures await your family at Stowe Gardens this season with lots for children of all ages to discover and acres of space for them to run in and stretch their legs. Leave your worries behind, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and set off hand-in-hand with your children into the majestic gardens.

Planning your family visit

Here's the information you need at a glance to help plan your day out at Stowe Gardens:

Baby-changing facilities and accessible toilets are available
There are buggy friendly routes around the garden
Sturdy buggies for the garden are recommended rather than strollers
Breastfeeding is welcome
The café is located around the corner from the New Inn and a children's menu and high-chairs are available
Pocket money gifts and children's books are available to buy in the shop

Cycling at Stowe

We'd love for you to cycle to Stowe Gardens and you can lock bikes up in the spaces provided in the car park. Small scooters and balance bikes can be taken into the garden but please don't bring bikes with pedals.

A group of silhouettes of Second World War era soldiers can be seen against a colourful sky at dawn with orange light reflecting from light clouds. — Normandy D-Day Installation | © Jules and Bean

Family-friendly events

For Your Tomorrow - 1 Oct - 11 Nov

For Your Tomorrow is a memorial installation of soldiers killed in the D Day landing on 6 June 1944. The large-scale art installation consists of 1,475 silhouettes of Second World War military personnel.

For Your Tomorrow – the People’s Tribute was created by community artist, Dan Barton with the number of figures in the display representing the number of fatalities under British command on 6 June 1944. The work is currently installed at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, France where it will remain over the summer before coming to Stowe.

The installation is included in the normal admission price, however if you wish to book onto the special out of hours Twilight Experience you will need to pay an additional £10. You can book your ticket here: For Your Tomorrow Twilight Experience | National Trust. We will also be offering Sunrise Experience visits, these are free (normal admission applies) but prebooking is required. Please vist For Your Tomorrow Sunrise Experience | National Trust to do so.

Codebreaker Activity Trail - 1 Oct - 11 Nov

Join us at Stowe to find clues, solve puzzles and crack codes.

A Chirstmas Wish - Nov 30 - 5 Jan

See how wishes are sorted at Wish HQ Sorting Office and then set off on a festive adventure around New Inn and the Gardens. Enjoy a wish walk in Lamport, solve wish puzzles, take selfies at our ‘wish you were here’ selfie station and wish upon a star in the Temple of Venus! Add your own wishes to our wish tree and vote on the Stowe team’s wishes for nature.

Santa Run - 1 December

Join us for a 5k Santa Run (or walk) around the gardens. Dress up as Santa and get into the festive spirit! Entry fees go towards conservation at Stowe. Ticket price also includes all day access to the gardens. To find out more and to book visit 5K Santa Run | National Trust

Family-friendly things to do in the garden

Re-wild the children at Stowe Gardens by getting outdoors, away from the tech, and tuning into nature. The garden and parkland provide the ultimate backdrop for igniting imaginations. Explore a world of lakes, hidden woods, enormous temples, colourful reflections and twisted trees as you play and have fun on your family adventure.

Here are a few of the things to look out for in the garden:

Explore the hidden depths and woodlands of Lamport Garden - perfect for that game of hide and seek
Stop by the Sleeping Wood with its meandering paths
Find the birds and farm animals dotted around the lakes and fields

What do you need to know when visiting the garden?

Stowe Gardens is large, so plan a route to decide how far you'll go and choose rest stops along the way
There's plenty of benches dotted around for when those little legs need a break
To dodge rain showers, use the temples as shelters
There's plenty of spots that make for a perfect picnic, so bring along a blanket or use one of our accessible picnic benches for your family feast (please no BBQs)
We're happy for you to play in the gardens - bring a ball or a kite - just be mindful of other visitors and your surroundings as there are a number of lakes, animals, trees and slopes around the gardens