Best known for its comprehensive herb collection and traditional fruit orchards, Acorn Bank is a tranquil haven with a fascinating industrial past. Indulge yourself at the tea-room, where culinary herbs and fruit from the garden are used daily in soups, salads and puddings.
Early Years (2-4)
Early Years (2-4)
In recent years there has been a cultural shift in our society that has reduced the access and use of outdoors for many young children.
A number of factors are blamed, including increased fear amongst adults in relation to children’s safety, anxieties about the threat of abduction, and technological advances leading to an overwhelming prominence of more sedentary indoor activities, such as television and computer games. However, the developmental needs of young children have remained constant and the outdoor environment continues to be essential to their health, development and well-being. Therefore, regular opportunities for sustained periods of play in a rich and stimulating outdoor environment offer a wide range of benefits to babies, toddlers and young children.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum, which covers children aged birth to the end of the Reception year, became statutory in September 2008 and places strong emphasis on the importance and value of daily outdoor experiences for children’s learning and development.
Learning outside the classroom supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being. It gives them contact with the natural world and offers them experiences that are unique to outdoors, such as direct contact with the weather and the seasons. Outdoor play also supports children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
And, of course, the outdoor environment offers more space than indoors and therefore is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. For many children, playing outdoors at their early years setting may be the only opportunity they have to play safely and freely while they learn to assess risk and develop the skills to manage new situations.
While many of these experiences will take place on-site, outdoor learning may also take place within the local community, for example a walk to the bakery, or past the building site on the way to the park. These off-site ‘expeditions’ offer both children and adults a catalyst for play and conversations. Ultimately, play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors make the most efficient use of resources and build on interests and enthusiasms. Forest Schools are growing in popularity across the UK and are increasingly offered as part of the early years curriculum in schools and settings.
Finally, parental involvement in children’s learning is particularly important in the early years as parents and carers are the child’s first educators. Early years settings, including children’s centres, are increasingly involving parents in developing and using their outdoor areas and in supporting other outdoor learning opportunities.
Suitable Venues
Hidden woods with ancient trees and flower-sprinkled grasslands, just off the North Downs and Pilgrims Ways
Abinger Roughs, above the village of Abinger Hammer, is an area of grassland and mixed woodland - some of the mighty oak trees are over 300 years old. The Roughs is home to many creatures and it’s a perfect spot for a young explorer to start looking at nature.
In the 1870s, Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist, actually walked on the Roughs while staying at Abinger Hall.
A wild stretch of coastline from blue lagoon to beach
Popular with divers and coasteerers, Abereiddi's Blue Lagoon is a spectacular coastal feature. The lagoon is actually a flooded former slate quarry and you can still see atmospheric ruined quarry buildings on the clifftops.
Discover the place that inspired Octavia Hill to found the National Trust
Toy's Hill is more than 200 acres (81 hectares) of woodland. The area is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its abundant wildlife, and much of it is recognised as a Grade I site of national importance for nature conservation.
Atmospheric farmhouse full of quirky objects and fascinating stories
The Brownes of Townend in the Troutbeck Valley were just an ordinary farming family: but their home and belongings bring to life more than 400 years of extraordinary stories. As you approach Townend - a traditional Lake District stone and slate farmhouse, you'll understand why Beatrix Potter described Troutbeck Valley as her favourite.
The National Nature Reserve status of Bradfield Woods recognises the fact that this is one of the most important woods in the country. Bradfield Woods is steeped in history and brimming with wildlife. The award-winning carbon-positive building includes a classroom, covered veranda and toilets.
Lackford Lakes is a wildlife haven created from gravel pits. Designated SSSI, with wetland, woodland, scrub, sandy heath and 11 lakes, birds and other wildlife can be seen close-up all year round. Located at the heart of the reserve, the centre has a classroom overlooking the reedbed, viewing gallery, picnic area and toilets.
Escape to this spectacular riverside garden and be absorbed by natural beauty
Bordered by the River Wye, The Weir sits within unspoilt Herefordshire countryside and has many historical secrets to uncover. For centuries this site has been used as a pleasure ground for fishing, boating and swimming. It is managed in a natural way to create a varied habitat for wildlife.
As well as a range of native trees and wildlife (including budgies and guinea pigs!) there's an aviary and a play area for children. The island also provides wonderful views upstream of the weir and the wooded slopes of the Cliveden Estate.
Surrounded by beauty... steeped in history
An intimate family home, the history of The Vyne spans the centuries. From its royal beginnings in Tudor times to its place today as a intriguing retreat for you to explore, you can lose yourself in the surroundings that inspired great authors such as Jane Austen.
Beautiful open downland,sheer chalk cliffs and dramatic sea views
Be inspired as Tennyson was
Tennyson Down is probably one of the most popular places to walk on the Island. You can enjoy it just for the great leg-stretch from Freshwater Bay to the Needles Headland, and drink in the salt laden air that so inspired Tennyson. However every time you visit, the light and weather conditions are different so it is well worth returning.
Delightful English country garden
Full of variety, this charming garden shows the English country style at its best.
Peaceful water gardens and herbaceous borders, with organically shaped topiary, demonstrate an imaginative use of colour and planting, creating unexpected vistas.
Stroll through the arboretum with its wonderful species of trees and naturally planted spring bulbs.
Quiet nature reserve with a surprising array of habitats
The Chase is a small property of 143 acres of woodland near the village of Woolton Hill, close to the Hampshire/Berkshire border, which supports a wide community of walkers and regular visitors through schools and naturalist groups.
The land was bought by Sir Kenneth Swan in 1930 and the site soon transformed into the nature reserve that stands today.
The main feature is a giant soft play frame welcoming children from 3 to 11 years offering multi level multi color adventure featuring all the classic fun features and padded equipment one expects from modern softplay from balls and slides to tunnels and bridges while they race and chase to the top!
Villages and countryside criss-crossed with trails
The Buscot and Coleshill Estates are traditional estates on the edge of Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. They are made up of 7,000 acres, three villages, 850 acres of woodlands and 12 let farms.
We offer free visits to NT education group members, free teacher visits, an education officer to assist with planning, education volunteers and a covered area for picnics and lunches.
Cheam Leisure Centre provides the local community with a gym, swimming pool, group exercise programme, health suite, sports hall, squash courts and meeting room.
Welcome to our beautiful 19-acre nature reserve. With woodland, meadow, ponds and a wildlife garden, Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre is a haven for wildlife and an exhilarating gren space for your pupils to explore. Our education programmes give children opportunities to experience nature for themselves through hands-on activities.
A comfortable home telling the story of a brewer, a widow and three generations of the Lander family
Tucked away on the edge of Wellington is this rare suburban villa and mini-estate. As you walk up the large avenue of Wellingtonia trees the red-brick villa is unexpectedly revealed offering a chance to immerse yourself in a past era.
Iconic mountains, rich countryside and a sweeping 18th century landscaped park
The Sugarloaf and Usk Valley is a landscape of contrasts.
It’s where the dramatic Black Mountains give way to broader, rich and green open pastures
The iconic peak of the Sugarloaf mountain watches over the market town of Abergavenny, dominating the surrounding landscape and offering glorious views towards mid-Wales in one direction and south-west England in another
Abandon the car - this is Pembrokeshire's walking country
This is the most rugged and remote stretch of the Pembrokeshire Coast, from the peak of Garn Fawr near Strumble Head to the cliffs of Pen yr Afr in the north.
Pen Anglas and Dinas Island guard the entrance to Fishguard Harbour, and Castell Farmhouse is a holiday cottage with a view few can equal. Linked throughout by the coast path, it offers splendid coastal walking.
Come and discover two contrasting experiences sitting side by side
Late 17th-century house with lavish interiors and the Museum of Childhood
Vast area of sandy beaches and heathland
A glorious slice of natural coastline in Purbeck featuring a four-mile stretch of golden, sandy beach, with gently shelving bathing waters and views of Old Harry Rocks and the Isle of Wight.
Ideal for water sports and includes the most popular naturist beach in Britain. The heathland behind the beach is a haven for native wildlife and features all six British reptiles.
A most beautiful landscape of international importance
Strangford Lough is a unique and wonderful place of immense international importance for nature conservation. It is the largest sea lough in the British Isles, covering an area from Angus Rock at its mouth on the Irish Sea, to the vast sand-flats at its northern end 20 miles (33 kilometres) away. It is one of only three designated Marine Nature Reserves in the United Kingdom.
A monumental day out
A normally sedate trip made grand with their free children's activity packs, full of ideas to discover wildlife and nature in the gardens.
Stowe Landscape Gardens offer great children's activity packs, full of ideas to discover wildlife and nature in the gardens and help keep their interest going.
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