Summer of Play
Get ready for a Summer of Play at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, sponsored by Starling bank
- Booking not needed
- Free event (admission applies)
Join us during the summer holidays and explore the estate with your family and friends.
Visit four different play stations across the estate and discover ways you can play together. Build an obstacle course and let your imaginations run wild. Take your shoes off and walk barefoot through the grass. Get creative in Swanley Grange with chalk and logs in Swanley Grange. Take to the stage in Quebec and perform with puppets, costumes or musical instruments.
Join in with Movement Monday activities on the ball games field, just 2 minutes from the visitor centre
The estate is large, so give yourself plenty of time to explore on your visit.
You can walk around the estate with a buggy on hard-standing paths and some grassy areas. Four-legged friends are welcome, but please remember to keep them on a short lead and pick up after your pet.
Summer of Play activities are free to take part in and run from 20 July to 1 September during standard opening hours. You don't have to pre-book, just turn up on the day.
Times
Prices
Event ticket prices
This event is free, but normal admission charges apply for the venue.
Check admission pricesThe basics
- Meeting point
Head in to the estate through any admissions point: the Visitor Centre, West Gate or Studley Royal. There is level access from the West Gate entrance.
- What to bring and wear
There are slopes and areas of uneven ground on the estate so please wear sturdy footwear. We are an outdoor site, so dress for the weather.
- Accessibility
There are hard-standing paths around the estate and level access from the West Gate entrance. There are some slopes, including a hill with 15-20% gradient between the Visitor Centre and the abbey.
Upcoming events
A Landscape Painter's Perspective: Peter M. Hicks
Explore Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal through the eyes of one of the north's leading landscape artists this summer. 'A Landscape Painter's Perspective' is a new art exhibition by Peter M. Hicks.
Garden and abbey tour
Join one of our volunteer tour guides to see the abbey as the Georgians once did; incorporated into the dramatic designed landscape.
Abbey tour
Join one of our volunteer tour guides to discover more about the largest monastic ruins in the country.
Wow! Wildlife walk
Discover unusual facts about the trees and wildflowers found at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, from the humble dandelion to a great old oak.