National Trust events in Wiltshire that are 'alive with the promise of summer'

Across Wiltshire, National Trust places are alive with the promise of warm summer days, lazy weekend picnics and trips out with family and friends.

Lots is going on this season, from foraging courses to outdoor theatre performances and yoga in nature to guided garden walks and talks, and much more.

Here is what’s happening near you this spring, please check the property website for opening days and times:

Avebury:

Guided tour of Avebury Manor Garden

6 Jun and 11 Jul. 10 – 11am

Join Avebury Manor Garden's Head Gardener as he takes visitors around the garden to share his knowledge about the site, from the fascinating history and how the garden has developed over the centuries, to the fantastic seasonal planting highlights and tips for your own gardens.

Price: £15 (includes entry to the garden and tea or coffee and a baked treat at the café). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Landscape walk – Waden Hill

Sat 15 Jun. 1.30 – 4pm

The volunteer guide will help you unlock the past by explaining the history of the landscape as you walk.

Price: £8. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Trust10 trail run at Avebury

23 Jun, 28 Jul and 25 Aug. 9 – 11am

The Trust10 is a monthly, 10k trail run that allows you to explore the wider Avebury landscape.

Glow-worm walk at Figsbury Ring, near Salisbury

Fri 28 Jun and Fri 5 Jul. 9.45 – 11pm

On this evening adventure, you can watch the curtain of nightfall around us atop the ancient hillfort of Figsbury Ring, as we hope to meet some extraordinary creatures.

Price: £8. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Summer foraging course

Sat 4 Jul. 11am – 3pm

Discover nature's wild food secrets on this foraging course with Fred Gillam.

Price: £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Summer floral workshop

Fri 12 Jul. 10am – 12.30pm

This workshop will give you the confidence and techniques to create a beautiful summer floral arrangement using seasonal flowers.

Price: £39. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Landscape walk – East of Avebury circuit

Tue 23 Jul. 1.30 – 4pm

A knowledgeable volunteer guide will help you to unlock the past by explaining the history of the landscape as you walk.

Price: £8. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Family Stone Circle tour

Every Sun and Wed from 28 Jul. 11 – 11.45am and 1 – 1.45pm

Price: £2.50 per child (adults free, normal admission applies). Booking not required.

Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village

Outdoor theatre: Beauty and the Beast by Chapterhouse Theatre Company

Thu 15 aug. 7 – 8.30pm

Presented with lively original music and sparkling humour, Chapterhouse Theatre Company’s rollicking new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast is perfect for all the family.

Price: Adult £20 / Child £12 / Family (1A & 3C) £44 / Family (2A & 3C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Mompesson House

The Invisible Hands of Mompesson House: Servants

Every Fri to Tue from 14 Jun to 27 Aug. 11am-4pm

Find out what life was like for the people who worked behind the scenes at Mompesson House, from the servants of the eighteenth century to the housekeepers and gardeners in the 1950s.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.

Stourhead

Forage and cook walk

8 and 16 Jun, 13 Jul and 11 Aug. 10am – 4pm

A foraging crash course that he covers everything from identification to preparation and cooking of wild food held on Stourhead's beautiful wider estate.

Price: £70. Booking essential 01747 841152 or via the website.

Summer Yoga

Tue 11, Tue 18 and Tue 25 Jun. 10 – 11am

This outdoor class is suited to all ability levels. A wet-weather location is available. Please bring your own mat.

Price: £15 (normal admission applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Father’s Day Forest School

Sun 16 Jun. 10am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 4pm

Immerse yourself in our woods and share in natural crafts, den building and outdoor play with our professional facilitator.

Price: £30 for 1 adult and 2 children. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Trust10

Sun 23 Jun, Sun 28 Jul and Sun 25 Aug. 8.30 – 11.30am

Stourhead’s Trust10 10k trail run is a challenging, multi-terrain run involving some public roads.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is not required.

Royal Geographical Society: Earth Photo 24

Daily from 24 Jun. 9am – 4.30pm

A collaboration between the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), Forestry England and Parker Harris, Earth Photo celebrates photographic and film work that conveys the world around us and makes us think differently, capturing nature, people, place and space, forests, the land and seascapes, and the varied impacts of, and adaptations to, climate change.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is not required.

Stourhead estate walks

28 Jun, 26 Jul and 30 Aug. 11am – 1pm

Be led on lesser-known routes around Stourhead's wider estate, see bluebells in spring, wildflowers and butterflies in summer, and the golden landscapes of autumn. t.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Seasonal Yoga

Sun 28 Jul. 10.30 -11.45am

Connect with your body, and with nature, through yoga linked to the season. A wet-weather location is available. Please bring your own mat.

Price: £15 (normal admission applies). Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Summer theatre: Beauty and the Beast

Fri 23 Aug. 4 – 6.30pm

Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing the classic production of Beauty and the Beast.

Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Summer theatre: Little Women

Fri 30 Aug. 7 – 9.30pm

Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing a classic production of Little Women. Bring a picnic and join us on the West Lawn at the back of Stourhead House for an enjoyable evening under the stars.

Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Summer theatre: Pride and Prejudice

Sat 31 Aug. 7 – 9.30pm

Chapter House Theatre Company will be performing a classic production of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Bring a picnic and join us on the West Lawn at the back of Stourhead House for an enjoyable evening under the stars.

Price: Adult £20 / Child £10.20 / Family (2A & 2C) £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.

Walled Garden talks

Every Wed. 12.30 – 1.30 and 2 – 3pm

Learn more about the function of the Walled Garden, both past and present, in this guided talk.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is not required.

Walks and Talks

Daily. 11am – 12.30pm & 1.30 - 3pm

Accompany one of Stourhead's knowledgeable volunteers on the original route taken by the Hoare family and their guests, and learn the history of this fascinating place. Walks take approx. 1/1.5hrs. Meet by the interpretation hub.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is not required.

Making a House a Home: 300 Years of Women’s History at Stourhead

Daily. 11am – 4pm

The Stourhead story is told through the eyes of the women who played a part in making it into a special place

This includes Alda Hoare, who gifted Stourhead to the National Trust in 1946 to Jane Benson who was the first lady to live in the house in the 18th century.

Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking is not required.