Family-friendly things to do at Avebury
![A family searching for trail clues in the garden of Avebury Manor](http://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/binaries/content/gallery/website/national/regions/wiltshire/places/avebury/library/spring/avebury-manor-garden-trail-family.jpg?auto=webp&width=767&crop=16:9&dpr=2 2x)
From trails and guided tours to craft activities, Avebury has lots of ways for you to enjoy precious time together as a family.
Planning your family visit
-
Free entry for under 5s
-
Baby-changing facilities available
-
Children’s menu available at the café
-
Pocket money gifts and children’s books available in the shop
-
Picnic tables in the Old Farmyard
Summer fun at Avebury
Family Stone Circle Tours
Learn more about Avebury’s history by joining one of our volunteer-led family tours on Wednesdays and Sundays during the school holidays.
Times: 11:30am, 1pm
Location: Henge and stone circle
Price: £2.50 per child, adults free (tickets available from the barn)
Fairytale theatre in the Dovecote
The whole family can get involved in these playful performances of stories including The Ugly Duckling, The Three Little Pigs, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Tall Tales' captivating performances are specially designed to engage and inspire young audiences.
Dates: 2 August, 9 August, 16 August
Times: 11am, 1pm, 2pm
Price: Free (Tickets available from visitor reception in the barn)
Afternoon with an Avebury Archaeologist
Do you have questions about the amazing archaeology of Avebury? Would you like to find out more about the stone circles and wider landscape in the Neolithic period? Visit Avebury on 25 July to talk with the resident archaeologist and get your questions answered.
Dates: 25 July
Times: 2pm-4pm
Price: Free
Obstacle Course
Create your own unique obstacle course using the logs, planks, and balance beams in the Old Farmyard, then challenge others to complete it.
Dates: Until Sunday 1 September
Times: 10am-5pm
Location: Old Farmyard
Price: Free
You can also collect a birds and butterflies spotter sheet for free from the barn or garden gate. Tick off some of our colourful flying visitors during your trip or take the sheet away to complete when your back home.
All National Trust facilities at Avebury (apart from Avebury Manor) will be open from 10am-5pm over the summer.
Explore Avebury Henge and Stone Circles
4,500 years ago, people living here built the largest stone circle in the world, with two smaller circles within it* and dug a 9m deep bank and ditch around the outer one.
You can enter the stone circle, touch the stones (but don’t climb), walk all the way around it, and take a walk along West Kennet Avenue, one of the two stone rows that led to (or from) the circles.
The stones is enclosed by fences, but be careful crossing the roads. Most of the year there are sheep grazing the grass.
*Stonehenge would fit within one of these smaller circles.
Learn about Avebury in the Alexander Keiller Museum
All of the artefacts in the museum come from local excavations, many from the time of Alexander Keiller who dug at Avebury in the 1930s. Here you can find out more about the Avebury World Heritage Site and the Neolithic people who built their monument here.
Discover Avebury Manor
Avebury Manor is currently closed for repairs and restoration work following flooding in January.
You can see images from the flooding on display in the barn and we will share more information on when the manor will reopen as soon as we have it.
Avebury Manor Garden
The garden at Avebury Manor is organised into a series of 'rooms', each with it's own character. Take your time to explore or simply take a seat and enjoy the sights and scents around you.
Explorer backpacks, containing spotter sheets, books, and binoculars are available to borrow from the garden gate. We also have garden games and blankets available in the Church Garden.
If you are visiting with children who like wildlife, make sure you head to the Topiary Garden to spot the Great crested newts in the pond.
Avebury Manor Garden sensory map
A new sensory map for children is now available to pick up and follow from the garden gate.
Perfect for neurodivergent visitors or younger families, you can use the free map to discover the best places to listen to the wind, smell the herbs, and look at the wildlife.