Family fun at East Riddlesden Hall

A mother and children walking through the garden at East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire — Visitors in the garden at East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

From helping build a bug hotel to making the messiest mud pie ever, here are some ideas for families to enjoy at East Riddlesden Hall.

Join us for a Summer of Play

27 July - 4 September, 10am - 4pm

Discover fun-filled activities on offer as part of our Summer of Play, sponsored by Starling Bank. Pick up a map as you arrive and start your summer adventure. Try hoola hooping, noughts and crosses or build the biggest tower on the formal lawns.

Join Bingley Dance Studio every Wednesday during the summer holidays for an hour of drop in dance classes, with a new style of dance on offer each week. From freestyle to rock and roll, you could discover your rhythm this summer.

Pack up your picnics and head to the lower fields, the perfect place to charge around or try out flying a kite. Have a go at hay bale hurdles, or take a stroll along the riverbank on the meadow walk and see what butterflies and birds you can spot.

With a new craft in the Discovery Room each week and a trail to explore around the house, play can continue - even in the rain!

The Discovery Garden

Tucked away within the trees, this natural play area has lots for little ones to discover. Find the hidden entrance and follow the path to start your adventure.

Cook up a messy delight in the mud pie kitchen, make some music with the chimes. Practise balancing on the rope bridge or use the wheelbarrows to make a hedgehog house with leaves. Why not put on a show in the East Riddlesden puppet theatre, or try to make the giant scales balance?

The newly refubished area is the perfect place for little ones to play. With a shop, castle and ship, imaginations can run wild in the outdoors.

Trim Trail

Can you balance along the beam to the bridge? Can you make it to the end of the trail? Practise your balancing and climbing on the trim trail, tucked away behind the tearoom.

Two children playing in the mud pie kitchen at East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire — Children playing in the mud pie kitchen at East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

The East Riddlesden Hall bug hotel

Hidden amongst the yew trees in the Discovery Garden, we’re building up this special home for our littlest residents. Grab some sticks, leaves and moss and help add to the many floors of the hotel. See if you can spot any of its guests making themselves at home – but be careful, we need to take care of these lovely little critters.

The formal gardens

Summer is the perfect time to have a picnic on the formal lawns. Pull up a deck chair and enjoy some of the garden games, with skipping ropes, building blocks and tic-tac-toe to play with.

The lower fields

There’s lots of open space on the lower fields, perfect for running off some steam, playing games or flying a kite. Follow the trail alongside the river and pass through our wonderful willow tunnel. The riverside path is also a great place to go on a scavenger hunt – look for leaves, sticks and other natural treasures to use in a fantastic wild art creation.

Two children in coats and wellies walk along the path with umbrellas up towards East Riddlesden Hall, Yorkshire — Visitors with umbrellas, East Riddlesden Hall | © National Trust Images / Chris Lacey

Planning for a rainy day?

With indoor crafting available all day and a new craft each week. The Discovery Room makes the perfect place to hide away from the British summer weather. While you're in there you can browse our second-hand children's books for sale or take a tour around the Hall and see if you can spot the mice hidden in the rooms.

Things to do this summer

There's lots happening at East Riddlesden hall for the whole family to enjoy.

Replicas at Sutton Hoo. Tunic, chain mail shirt, spear and axe hammer on a bear skin — Be an Anglo-Saxon for a day! | © National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel

Festival of Archaeology

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be an Anglo-Saxon? Come join us in July for storytelling of the book 'How to be an Anglo-Saxon in 13 easy stages'. There will be props to try out and costumes to try on.

Find out more