Devon

Plymouth

Play in nature this summer, every day from Saturday 20 July - Sunday 2 September.

What will you do first? Maybe you'll challenge the family to a race around the orchard? Or get creative in the Old Orchard Theatre? Will you become a Nature Detective at Cotehele Mill or build something amazing out of loose parts?

Put your sun hat on and come and make the most of being outdoors this summer. Enjoy an ice cream from The Edgcumbe at the quay, Barn Café and Mill Reception, or relax in a shady picnic spot in the garden or across the estate.

Summer of Play is sponsored by Starling Bank.

Summer Of Play At Cotehele

Our Journey To Net Zero – Low Carbon Dorset’S Touring Climate Exhibition

At Stoked Watersports there is something for everyone. We run regular kayak, paddleboard and row boat hourly hire sessions throughout the day perfect for beginners.

For more experienced paddlers we have our SUP pick up and go service giving you the freedom to explore Lake Windermere at your own pace.

Our watersports base at Fell Foot on the southern tip of Lake Windermere is set within the National Trust’s Fell Foot park - a very special place which never fails to impress. It is quite simply the best place to experience watersports hires on Lake Windermere.

Paddleboard, Kayak And Row Boat Sessions

Step into the fascinating world of Benjamin Disraeli, a remarkable British politician and storyteller. Disraeli knew that words held enormous power. Disraeli’s love for storytelling is reflected in his library and writings but also in his deliberate efforts to shape his personal narrative and legend, and in doing so attempt to influence public perception.

As you explore the mansion and grounds you will see how Disraeli wove together the art of myth making and storytelling to extend beyond the page to Hughenden’s manor, garden, and parkland.

Myths & Mythmaking

Pilton Arts Group Autumn Exhibition In The Activity Room

Coming to the Fox Talbot Museum on June 29, a diverse selection of contemporary photographs from across the globe.

For the past 170 years, the RPS's International Photography Exhibition has reflected how people see and think about things. The artworks selected for the Fox Talbot Museum exhibit a wide range of themes, subjects, techniques and aesthetics from 37 different photographers.

The International Photography Exhibition encourages photographers and image-makers of all ages, new, emerging and established photographers worldwide to submit work to the open call. For each edition of the exhibition the RPS invites a panel of leading voices in photography to bring an exciting mix of expertise to the final exhibition selection. The exhibition at the Fox Talbot Museum represents a selection from the last three years’ editions of RPS exhibitions.

International Photography Exhibition

Discover over 60 original illustrations in our family-friendly exhibition, including favourite stories and characters such as Mr Gumpy, Avocado Baby, and Oi! Get Off Our Train!

There are comfy reading zones for kids to snuggle into with a book, colourful blown-up scenes for family photos, and dressing up inspiration. Look out for the life-size ‘magic’ bed that transports young imaginations to far away worlds, inspired by Burningham’s classic story The Magic Bed.

Sketches and personal items, including the artist’s paint palette, reveal how Burningham created his much-loved stories.

Outside, an energetic activity trail weaves through Mottisfont’s spacious gardens, introducing families to more characters, with games and challenges to complete. £3 per trail.

Art gallery open 11am-4.30pm daily, gardens open 10am-5pm daily. Last entry into the property, house and gallery is 30 minutes before closing.

Property admission applies (free entry for National Trust members, Art Fund members and under 5s).

There's no need to book, but we may get very busy, particularly on weekends. We open at 10am, and mornings tend to be busier than afternoons - most of our visitors arrive before 2pm, which can cause congestion in the car park. If you have the flexibility, a weekday visit is generally quieter than a weekend, even during school holidays. If you can only visit over the weekend, Saturdays are usually less busy than Sundays.

John Burningham's Bedtime Stories: Exhibition And Activity Trail

Nature’s Tapestry | Botanical Embroidery at Hidcote Friday 29 March to Monday 30 September

Hidcote will host botanical and embroidery artist Olga Prinku in the exhibition hall this spring. Olga’s work combines dried and preserved flowers and other natural materials with tulle fabric, to create motifs inspired by nature.

Olga has been visiting Hidcote through the seasons to collect materials which she will use to create three artworks inspired by the garden. These will be displayed alongside her wider body of work. Her work uses materials like seed-heads that we ordinarily overlook to create intricate and unique artworks inspired by the changing of the seasons, and the raw beauty of the natural world.

The exhibition is located in the Entrance Hall of the house and is free to enjoy. Normal admission to the property applies.

Nature’S Tapestry | Botanical Embroidery At Hidcote

Sensory September At Trengwainton

Pooch Passport

Sculpture Exhibition In Avebury Manor Garden

Explore snippets of Ben Browne’s life in the 1700’s, following his relocation from the Lake District to London, captured in letters sent to his father ‘Old Ben’ over a 20-year period.

From the excitement of moving to the fast-paced big city, to concerns about his unfashionable clothes and the cost of living, to missing his mother’s cooking, the notes written by ‘Young Ben’ describe the experiences of a young person moving away from home to make their own way in the world.

This rare series of letters offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives and social position of an ordinary farming family, the Brownes, who lived at Townend in Troutbeck Valley for more than 400 years. See the original volume of letters on display alongside the original belongings of the family inside this typical Lake District slate-and-stone farmhouse.

The exhibition is included with standard admission. Free bookable tours, available from 3pm daily, can be booked in advance and include the display.

Letters From London

Story Shelter At East Pool Mine

Displayed for the first time, this collection of watercolours and small black and white photographs will give you a glimpse into the the private lives of the Rawnsleys.

Discover a snapshot of genteel tourism in the mountain resorts of the Alps and the Dolomites, while the shadow of the first world war loomed over Europe.

Flower Time In The Oberland: The Holiday Watercolours Of Eleanor Rawnsley

Before the Industrial Revolution, making clothes was slow. People would make their own clothes, in small quantities and would wear them for a long period of time, repeatedly repairing them. They were patched, resized, remade, and handed down until there was nothing left to use.

The Industrial Revolution saw a rapid change in the pace in the production of textiles, the growth of cotton and technological advancements within mills, and faster transport. This meant there were more options for people in all levels of society and is the starting point in the story of how we consume clothes today.

In this exhibition we will explore the story of the past, present and future of the cotton textile industry in the North West and the world, the human drive for fashion and ‘faster, easier, cheaper’ clothes, and the global, environmental and societal impacts that had and continues to have today.

Admission charges apply. Free entry for National Trust Members.

Exhibition: For The Love Of Cotton

'Playing by the rules: Childhood, dress and imagination' will delve into the world of children's clothing within the Killerton collection, many of them part of the Margaret Bodley collection which was acquired by the National Trust in the early 1980s.

Five local Brownie and Guide units have worked with us to create future fashion designs, along with becoming young curators for one of the displays.

Opening 10 February 2024, the exhibition will open with the house, daily 11am to 4pm (last entry 3.30pm).

For more details visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/killerton/killertons-fashion-collection

Playing By The Rules: Fashion Exhibition In The House

“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” - Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I

In 1888, the Lyceum Theatre company launched a new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The production had a vast cast and sumptuous costuming, and was led by two of the most beloved Shakespearean actors of the day, Ellen Terry and Henry Irving.

This new exhibition will bring together mementoes from the production for the first time in several decades, including the beautiful Banqueting dress. This will be the first time the dress is on display following a long period of conservation.

Our Macbeth museum guide will allow visitors to delve further into the story of the exhibition, and of Shakespearean theatre at this time, by highlighting other items in the remarkable collection at Smallhythe Place.

Wed-Sun, including bank holidays. Runs until 3 November.

Standard admission applies.

'Dressing Lady Macbeth': An Exhibition (25 May - 3 Nov)

With a display in the old castle and a trail in the garden, 'Changed Priorities Ahead' showcases the work of nature artist, Nessie Ramm. Nessie paints our native wildflowers with exquisite detail as they thrive undisturbed on roundabouts, slip roads and laybys. With metal road signs as her 'canvas', her large-scale art renders visible the wildness and value of these unloved spaces. This display is a call to put away our strimmers and re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world. Entry to the display and trail is included in the general admission.

'Changed Priorities Ahead' Exhibition (1 June-20 October)

Child workers lived in the Apprentice House, often sent from workhouses far away. They laboured for long hours in the Mill, before returning to chores including gardening and sewing.

Discover how the children lived, where they slept, what they ate, what care they received, and hear the stories of Margaret Magin and Thomas Priestly.

When you arrive at Visitor Reception you can book onto a tour of the Apprentice House.

Tour times vary on week days and on weekends and during school holidays. Please ask for more details at Visitor Reception.

Tours are very popular so book your tickets early on the day of your arrival to avoid disappointment.

Tickets for tours cannot be pre-booked. Admission charges apply. Free entry for National Trust members.

Apprentice House Tours

Every Thursday our spinning volunteers demonstrate the traditional art of spinning wool into the yarn that we see and recognise today. You’ll usually find them in the Main Hall, where you can ask questions to learn more about the history and process of creating traditional cloth and its vital role in Lavenham's past.

Wool Spinning Demonstrations

Elizabethan England was a material world. Power, identity and virtue were all expressed though what you owned and what you built.

Elizabeth Shrewsbury designed Hardwick Hall to shout about who she was and how far she had come. From the solid stone ES initials on the roof to the magnificent tapestries and textiles she hung inside, everything was a material statement about Bess.

The stories on the wall:

Tapestries and textiles were more than just interior decoration, they were a form of art used to make a statement. Their size, expensive materials and the stories they told made them the perfect medium to publicly project the power and status of the owner.

Discover the symbolism and hidden meaning in the images and stories which don the 400- year-old walls. See if you can spot Bess’ devotion to Penelope throughout the hall, a beacon of virtue dedicated to her husband.

Conservation:

It took 24 years for the 13 Gideon tapestries to go through cleaning and conservation and a whopping £1.7 million to restore them back to their full glory.

Find out more about the painstaking work of the specialist cleaning team in Belgium and the people behind the hand stitched repairs at the National Trust’s Conservation Studio.

Taking in the tapestries:

Let the textiles do the talking in the Long Gallery as you uncover new stories in the Gideon tapestries through ‘slow looking’. Accompanied by a magnificent soundscape, this really will be a treat for the senses!

Material Power: Let The Textiles Do The Talking

Fountains Abbey became the greatest folly of all when John Aislabie created his water garden at Studley Royal. See the abbey as the Georgians did on this guided tour; incorporated into the dramatic designed landscape and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The abbey and garden tour lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and will be run twice a day, seven days a week.

Unfortunately, sometimes our volunteer guides aren't available and we have to cancel tours. Please ask the admission staff on your arrival for the tour schedule on that day.

Garden And Abbey Tour

Piecing together intricate painted glass in vibrant colours, the stained-glass conservators on this project needed keen eyes and a steady hand to dismantle, conserve and reassemble sections of the Tomb Chamber’s stained-glass windows.

Test your eye for detail with a 500-piece jigsaw for grown-ups and a 40-piece jigsaw for children each featuring a design from one of the Tomb Chamber stained-glass windows. Together with their families, younger visitors can enjoy brightly coloured wooden and acrylic puzzles suitable for ages 3+.

Seizing a ‘window of opportunity’, we’re showcasing the work of local art therapy charity artWell, by displaying a community painting created during a wellbeing workshop at The Camrose Centre in Basingstoke.

The painting of a window features a breath-taking flurry of flowers that appear to adorn the windowpane. Each bloom was painted by, and represents, a person who attended the workshop at the centre and so the work is essentially a group portrait.

Based in Basingstoke, artWell is a not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to improve mental health and positive use of imagination and creativity across sectors of the community who, for a variety of reasons, often feel excluded. The Camrose Centre provides support for anyone who is sleeping rough, homeless or vulnerably housed within Basingstoke and Deane Borough.

Subject to volunteer availability.

Tomb Chamber Stained Glass Display

National Trust

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Summer Of Play At Cotehele

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