The first signs of spring are starting to emerge across Somerset and places are sparkling after their winter deep cleans. There’s plenty to entice you out and about this winter with behind-the-scenes tours, February half term trails and apple grafting workshops. What’s more, every time you experience a National Trust day out, you help care for these special places for future generations.
Here is what’s happening near you this winter, please check property website for opening days and times:
Dunster Castle
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/dunster-castle-and-watermill
Behind the scenes: Attic tours
Every Sat and Sun from 4 Jan to 30 March. 1.30-2.30pm
Join an attic tour to experience life behind the scenes at Dunster Castle. See spaces you haven't seen before and hear stories about the servants who lived and used the spaces upstairs.
Price: £3pp (normal admission applies). Booking essential via the website or call 0344 249 1895
Dunster Experience Days - A Day with the Collections and House Manager
6 January. 10.30am-3.30pm
Spend the day with Dunster Castle's Collections and House Manager David Moore, who has been working at Dunster for 12 years and in the National Trust for 25 years. Embark on a behind the scenes tour of the castle and go into depth on the castle's fascinating history, objects, and characters. Enjoy a delicious two-course lunch at the Watermill Tearoom with David, who will be on hand to chat and answer questions. After lunch, head back to the castle for a hands-on conservation workshop. Discover different conservation techniques, how the House Team care for the castle's collection, and have a go at cleaning some objects yourself.
Price: £65pp. Booking essential 0344 249 1895, or via the website.
Apple Grafting Workshop
11 February, 10am-12.30pm
Discover the importance of grafting apple trees, learn techniques and tips, before putting it into practice. Take your apple tree home with you and watch it grow. All equipment and tools will be provided.
Price: £45.00 per person. Booking required via website or call 0344 249 1895.
February Half Term Trail
15-23 February . 10am-3pm
Pull your wellies on and enjoy a stomp around the gardens on our February Half Term trail, inspired by the Tale of the Snowdrop by Hans Christian Anderson.
Price: £3.00 per person (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Montacute House
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/montacute-house
Spring flowers at Montacute
Daily, 10am-4pm
The cheerful display of daffodils planted two years ago will make a splendid show once again on the south drive and adjacent orchard. The new display of 60,000 snowdrops planted this year will also be popping up. Predicted to look their best from mid-January.
Price: Free (normal admissions apply). No booking required.
February half term at Montacute
15 and 16 February (see website for times)
We are welcoming back the Tanton Garison giving visitors the chance to get up close and personal with 17th century history. However, please be aware this event may involve some loud bangs from mock musket firing.
Price: Free (normal admissions apply). No booking required.
Prior Park
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/prior-park-landscape-garden
Silent Space trail at Prior Park
Daily, see website for opening times
Escape the hustle and bustle and take a moment to reset. Getting outside can reduce stress, calm your mind and improve your overall health. Take it a step further with the Silent Space Trail at Prior Park, with points around the garden encouraging you to slow your pace and enjoy your own silence. It’s not just about what you can see but what you can hear, smell and feel, taking the opportunity to exist in the moment and connect with the garden. Available whenever the site is open, please check the website for the site’s opening hours.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required
Stourhead
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/stourhead
Behind Closed Doors tours
Weekdays between 7 Jan and 7 March. 11am-12noon, 12.45-1.45pm, 2.15-3.15pm
During this tour visitors will have the chance to visit areas of Stourhead House which are usually closed, including the attic and basement storerooms. The formal showrooms are not usually included in the tour. Tours may cover four floors with many stairs and will give you an insight into what goes on behind the scenes.
Price: Free (normal admissions apply). Booking required via the website or please call 0344 249 1895.
Winter warmer weekends
Every Sat and Sun, 11 Jan to 2 March. 11am-3pm.
After a wintery stroll, come and warm up by the log fire in the Entrance Hall of Stourhead House. Our volunteers will be on hand to share Stourhead's history with you.
Price: Free (normal admissions apply). No booking required.
Tyntesfield
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/tyntesfield
William Gibbs: Saint or Sinner?
27-31 January / 3-7 February 10.45-11.45am, 12noon-1pm, 1.15-2.15pm, 2.30-3.30pm
On this interactive tour, visitors will learn about Tyntesfield’s chapel, built for William and Blanche Gibbs in the 1870s. The tour will look at the Gibbs family’s Christian faith, and about the huge sums they donated to charity. But we’ll also consider how the family made their fortune and the human and environmental costs of that activity (suitable for 16+ only).
Price: Free (normal admissions apply). No booking required.
Gendered Spaces and Social Status Tour
Weekdays, 6-24 January 11-11.45am, 12noon-12.45pm, 2-2.45pm
The Gendered Spaces and Social Status Tour will explore Tyntesfield’s kitchen and butler’s pantry, taking a look into the divisive roles taken on by both male and female servants, and how those roles still exist today. The tour will also move ‘Upstairs’, looking at Victorian ideals and expectations for the Gibbs family, and how at times, Blanche and William Gibbs lived very different, and separate lives.
Price: Free (normal admissions apply). No booking required.
Introduction to Green Woodworking
23 February 10am-4pm
This one day course takes you through the basics of pole lathe turning and green woodworking. Starting with an ash log, we split, chop and shave our billet (section of timber) to a cylindrical shape before putting it on to the lathe and using chisels to shape it to a finished product (over 16s only).
Price: £80 (includes admission to Tyntesfield, all materials, use of tools and hot drinks). Booking essential (email somersetbodgers@icloud.com)
Make a rustic stool or coffee table
22-23 March 10am-4pm
In this two-day course, you'll make a three or four leg stool or coffee table with the Somerset Bodgers (over 16s only). We split ash logs into useable pieces. We then chop the sharp edges and use a draw knife to shave and horse shape the billets into cylinders. These are then fashioned on the pole lathe into legs for our stool or coffee table. A rustic top is chosen, cleaned up and prepared and then drilled to take the legs. It’s all fitted together and you go home with your item.
Price: £125 (includes admission to Tyntesfield, all materials, use of tools, and hot drinks). Booking essential (email somersetbodgers@icloud.com).
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset