Across Bath and Bristol, National Trust places are full of warmth, magic and sparkle as the festive season approaches. Wrap up and embrace the chilly days with a family walk around a country estate, or get into the Christmas spirit with carols, open fires and mince pies. There’s lots on offer this season, from Christmas wreath making workshops to festive family trails and beautifully decorated historic houses.
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 season, please check property website for opening days and times, especially over the Christmas period:
Bath Assembly Rooms
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/bath-assembly-rooms
Christmas in the Ball Room
Sat 25 Nov to Fri 22 Dec, 12noon – 6pm Thu to Mon (closed Tue & Wed)
Step back from the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and explore the Bath Assembly Rooms. Christmas trees will sit under the chandeliers in the ballroom and the decorations will sparkle filling the room with festive light. The Great Octagon and Tea Room will also be open for visitor to wonder through.
Price:£4 per adult, free for National Trust members and under 12s. Booking not required.
Dyrham Park
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/dyrham-park
Christmas at Dyrham Park
Daily, Fri 1 Dec to Sun 7 Jan (closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). 10am – 4pm
The house will be dressed in the style of five different eras, from Tudor times right up until the 20th century. Festive writings by the likes of Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens will be brought to life.
Outside, there will be a selection of Christmas trees decorated with golden pears - a pear theme running across the site to tie in with the orchards.
Families can track down giant wooden presents in a discovery trail dotted around the 270-acre site. Indoor crafts and games are planned in the house's basement bringing to life the magic of the popular festive poem 'The Night before Christmas'.
There will also be a poetry trail, aimed at adults running through the quiet terraces area offering an opportunity to reflect on 17th-century seasonal verse in a peaceful setting.
On selected dates, local choirs will be singing in the adjoining village church.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Christmas wreath making workshop at Dyrham Park
Mon 4 & Wed 6 Dec. 10.30am – 1.30pm
Get crafty this Christmas and make your own Christmas wreath to take home using fabulous foliage gathered from the across the 270-acre site. The sessions, held in the historic stables, will be led by gardener and wreath workshop expert Merryn. Tickets include hot drinks, mince pies and all materials. Suitable for beginners, no experience required.
Price: £48. Booking essential 0344 249 1895, or via the website.
Prior Park Landscape Garden
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/prior-park-landscape-garden-
Family Christmas advent trail at Prior Park
Weekends, Sat 2 to Sun 17 Dec. Daily, Mon 18 Dec to Mon 1 Jan (closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). 10am – 3pm
Get into nature this Christmas as the Prior Park advent trail returns. What will be hidden inside the doors this year? 24 doors will be spread throughout the garden at Prior Park this December. Behind each door will be a new set of festive themed riddles and pictures. Bring the family for a stroll, see the Christmas decorations and see if you can find all 24 doors. Why not reward everyone with a hot chocolate from the Tea Shed at the end?
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Tyntesfield
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/tyntesfield
Pick your own medlars
Fri 24 November, 11am – 12:30pm
We have a bumper crop of medlars in our orchard this autumn – join our rangers for the harvest and pick your own to take home. This weird but wonderful fruit is picked in autumn when still unripe, hard and bitter, then stored for several weeks to ripen until they are dark brown, soft, sweet and aromatic. They are popularly eaten with cheese and port or turned into a delicious jelly!
Meet ranger Stuart at the entrance to the orchard at 11am where he will give a brief introduction to the history of medlars and a demonstration of how to harvest the fruit, before heading into the orchard to harvest your own.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
Christmas lino printing on Christmas cards
Sat 2, Tue 5, Thu 7, Wed 13 and Fri 15 Dec. Please check website for times.
Come and enjoy the grounds of Tyntesfield and take inspiration from the festivities at this time of year. In this workshop you will learn how to make a linocut and print your designs onto Christmas cards.
Price: £50. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Wreath making workshop
Fri 8 to Tue 12 Dec. 10.30am – 1pm and 2.15pm – 4.45pm
Make your own stunning Christmas wreath using fabulous foliage gathered from the Tyntesfield estate. With oodles of festive cheer and guidance from an expert florist, and Tyntesfield's own decorating angels from local florists Barley and Mabel. Tickets include hot drinks, mince pies and all materials. Suitable for beginners, no experience required.
Price: £55. Booking essential 0344 249 1895 or via the website.
Tyntesfield Reindeer trail
Daily Sat 16 Dec to Mon 1 Jan (closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day). 10.30am – 4pm
The reindeer have escaped from Tyntesfield stables and are running riot across the estate! Father Christmas needs your help to track them down so he can round them up to pull his sleigh. Using a map of the locations they were last seen, explore the Tyntesfield estate and see if you can find all 9 reindeer. Our reindeer have been lovingly made by our resident green woodworkers; the Somerset Bodgers, a group of skilled craftspeople who offer courses and workshops in this historic craft.
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.
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