Nostell has so much to offer families it can easily fill a whole day and still warrant a return visit, great value for money as most activities are FREE (non-members need to pay £4 parking and admission charges). Although there are some activities that are in the grounds where you don’t need to pay admission, parking fees still apply.
We’ve been National Trust Members before and if I’m honest it was at a time in our lives when we didn’t really make the most of it, despite living in Harrogate close to a number of great NT properties and sites.
When we first moved to Wakefield I honestly didn’t think about becoming a member with just one property close by, but since we’ve discovered camping it’s something we’ve seriously considered.
I’m slightly ashamed to say that I hadn’t been to Nostell before our recent review visit and I honestly think we’ve missed out!
Our visit was during the school holidays, I’ve been listing Nostell holiday timetables and the Nostell Nestlings group on the website for a while but I genuinely didn’t realise what a fantastic place this is for families with children of all ages.
There were lots of free (after paying entry into Nostell) extra special holiday activities going on such as bug hotels, mud kitchens, cycle skills geocaching campfire cooking* and more. All organised into themes, Mucky Mondays, 50 Things Tuesdays, Active Wednesdays, Collections Thursdays and Sketchbook Fridays. Knowing my mini mumbler and her cousins we decided to go to the water play session!
Whilst we waited for her cousins to arrive mini mumbler played happily in the water and continued with them for well over an hour! The staff leading the session were engaging, encouraging and clearly enjoying their work.
I found out so much more about Nostell from chatting to the staff and picking up their guides and flyers. They have lots of nature trails, walks, cycle routes and I mustn’t forget that Nostell is home to 26 of the National Trust’s 50 Things to do before you’re 11 ¾! So the fact we have only one site here in the area isn’t so bad, Nostell has a lot to offer. Plus we’re not far away from other NT sites if you fancy going further afield.
We had lunch in the café, the food was good, plenty of choice for the mini mumblers and it didn’t break the bank. To save money there are plenty of places that you can have a picnic around the ground and in the stables courtyard.
After lunch we played on the playground and had a walk round the kitchen garden and set off for some Den Building in Joiner’s Wood. We have downloaded the 50 Things App so it was nice to take some snaps and document our adventure. (click here for Apple download) and (here for Andriod download)
Our trail following/map reading skills could perhaps do with a bit of a polish but we got there in the end. I must admit it was a bit harder going at 7 months pregnant that I had anticipated!
After Den Building we realised that it was definitely time to go home, we arrived at 10am and it was now 4pm! A full day that flew by.
We negotiated our way through the field of cow pat and another of cows with the push chair, we could’ve taken a friendlier and longer route but we were all pretty tired and we could see the car!
We all had an absolutely brilliant day out, we were all super tired by the end with all the mini mumblers falling asleep on the way home.
We didn’t get to see the house and collections as the house isn’t open on Mondays and Tuesdays, I’ve been assured that there are activities for children within the house too. So it isn’t just rooms full of priceless antiques that lead you to a heart attack when your child walks with 1m of anything! Next time we go we’ll definitely check out the house and report back!
It’s impossible to list all of the things going on at Nostell for families and adults, we will keep our events calendar up to date with special events, school holiday activities will be listed on the relevant school holiday pages and their weekly group Nostell Nestlings is listed in classes and playgroups.
Lots of activities are located within the grounds which are free to access, take a picnic but don’t forget your £4 donation for parking.
In holidays the timetabled activities often require the entry fee to be paid, you can still take a picnic don’t forget to pay for your parking. Nostell Nestlings is also free once you have paid entry into Nostell.
The café takes card payments so treat the family to lunch and perhaps some cake! There’s also a little shop on site.
Enjoy free parking, free entry plus lots of other member benefits. You will need to pay for some additional activities and food from the café should you wish! As a member I could see myself regularly going to Nostell for the Nostell Nestlings, school holiday activities or even just a play in the playground or nature walk, without the pressure of spending the whole day there to get my money’s worth!
*some activities incur a small additional charge.
On this occasion, we received free entry into Nostell for the purposes of doing this review. We have not been paid for this blog. The opinions expressed in this blog are our own and are a true reflection of our experiences on the day. If we don’t recommend it we won’t publish it!
Many Thanks to Blog Up North for sharing the opportunity. Click here to join the Blog Up North Group of online influencers.
