 Mum-of-two (soon to be three) Joanne Robinson offers a guide to taking young children around Hampshire’s National Trust houses.What could be more delightful on a warm summer day than a picnic with
your angelic tots, under the dappled shade of an ancient oak, with one
of Hampshire’s fine stately homes in the distant summer haze?
Hampshire has some of the most glorious stately homes in England, many with fine collections, beautiful grounds and, of course, tea rooms and lavender smelling gift shops. But can parents of tinies really enjoy them? It’s taken a while but I think I’ve finally cracked stately home visiting and every summer I really feel that I get the most out of my National Trust membership. I’ve spoken to the Visitor Services Managers at three of Hampshire’s finest National Trust properties and they all think you can visit their exquisite properties with children under 5 and have an enjoyable day out.
 The Vyne, Mottisfont Abbey and Uppark are all stunning properties with fantastic grounds. Each of them has baby changing facilities, picnic areas and a café where you can buy children’s food (either a ‘lunch box’ or half portions of the hot food selection). National Trust cafes are usually happy to warm baby food and bottles. On busy days most properties are unwilling to let you take pushchairs around the house itself and backpacks are generally not welcome within the house. However, all three properties have ’hipsters’ which they loan out, these are really convenient for carrying tired toddlers and babies.
The Vyne is a sixteenth century house 4 miles north of Basingstoke which dates back to the reign of Henry VIIII. The house itself is stunning with a magnificent long gallery. There are fantastic grounds at the Vyne with wild gardens, lawns and woodland walks. If you don’t fancy visiting the house, you can buy a ticket just for the grounds and get free ‘Tracker Packs’ of activities for the children or a garden trail.
Mottisfont Abbey Garden, House and Estate is situated in the Test Valley between Romsey and Stockbridge. The twelfth century Augustinian priory was converted into a house in the sixteenth century and contains an interesting collection of art and furniture.  However, the real glory of Mottisfont is its gardens. The walled gardens contain the National Collection of old-fashioned roses and the scent in summer is just incredible. The house is set in splendid grounds and there is a lovely riverside walk along the River Test. There are quizzes and trails for children which are set in the garden. A word of warning about Mottisfont though; it can get really very busy at weekends and Bank Holidays during the summer. I visited the house last summer on a quiet day in the week in term time (the joy of pre-school visiting!) and it was idyllic. We strolled along the river bank spotting fish and ran through the walled gardens choosing our favourite roses.
My favourite house, though, is Uppark, which although not strictly in Hampshire is within sneezing distance, just over the border in West Sussex. It sits high in the South Downs, just 5 miles south east of Petersfield, with one of the most magnificent views you can imagine. The house itself is seventeenth century and was restored after a dramatic fire in 1989. This year is the last year that the house will be displaying its interesting exhibition about the fire and the restoration of Uppark. The house contains a stunning Georgian Dolls House which is pretty to look at (but frustrating for tiny fingers!). What I love about Uppark, and the reason we go back so often every summer, is a box of toys which sits on the lawn in front of the house, overlooking the view. You can picnic there whilst the kids happily trot around on the hobby horses or play with the bats and balls. The grounds also have tracker packs and quizzes you can follow.
Every room in a National Trust house is staffed by volunteers. They are the Trust’s greatest asset. Many of them really welcome children but very occasionally a particularly nervous volunteer can make a paranoid parent feel unwelcome. I’ve had this experience myself and although it has been isolated, it can be off-putting. It’s worth remembering, as you take your children around a property, that the National Trust policy is family friendly. “We really welcome families at all our properties: however young your children are, we cater for their practical needs, baby changing, etc” Alison Evans, Property Manager at Mottisfont Abbey, told me. “There’s no better way to give your children a love and appreciation of the natural world, than by bringing them to the gardens and parks of our properties.”
Entry for all the properties is free for under 5’s. Prices for adults vary from property to property, full details of prices can be found on the National Trust website www.nationaltrust.org.uk. Annual Adult membership for the National Trust is £32.62 get (3
months free membership with The National Trust)which gets you into Trust properties around the country for a year, well worth it if you have a property close to you and want to visit time and again.
Each property has different opening times and it is always worth checking the property is open as most close for one or two days during the week. Here are the opening hours and contact details for the three properties we recommend; happy visiting!
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