[Dyrham Park]
A few suggestions from the National Trust of places to visit during the May Half-Term.
School’s out, and National Trust places are buzzing with family fun. Join us for lawn games, craft activities and our brand new Pokémon Trading Card Game Mega Evolution Trail. 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 May half term, but please check the property website for opening days and times:
Dyrham Park
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/dyrham-park
Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Trail at Dyrham Park
22 May-September. 10 am–5 pm
Calling Pokémon fans new and old! Get active outdoors on our Pokémon Trading Card Game Mega Evolution Trail. Team up as a family to search the parkland for each Mega Evolution Pokémon, discover their powers and complete your own challenges.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
May half-term activities at Dyrham Park
23-31 May-September. 10 am–5 pm
Alongside the Pokémon trail, there will be a few activities running on site. Families can create their own obstacle course down on the grass by the house using hurdles, stepping stones and cones. Visit Old Lodge play area in the parkland for a game of dominoes or Jenga. Building blocks will also be available at the visitor reception for spontaneous play.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Exhibition: Journeys – Asafo flags from the Karun Thakar collection at Dyrham Park
May-November. 11.30 am–4 pm
In the house at Dyrham Park will be vibrant Asafo flags. One of the most important West African art forms, they fuse European naval insignia with local traditions and symbolism, reflecting resistance and adaptation during colonial encounters. Displayed throughout Dyrham’s interiors, and placed alongside portraits and objects, they will deepen narratives of 17th-century global trade and colonial history embedded in the house.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Avebury
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/avebury
Avebury Manor Garden celebration day
25 May. 11 am–3 pm
Join us in the garden to make your own flower crowns, or to plant a seed to take home with you. Our 2026 artist in residence, Georgie Weedon, will also be hosting a relaxed paint-along session, giving you the chance to create your own piece of art. Live music will be provided on the day by the Baker’s Dozen Choir, and Head Gardener Garry Mumford will be available to answer your own gardening questions.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Lacock
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/lacock
May Half Term at Lacock Abbey
23-31 May. 10 am–5 pm
Find art boxes in the orchard with everything you need to create a masterpiece, visit the Bothy to make a butterfly mask, and pick up a spotter sheet and wild-art sheet to discover and create on a walk around the gardens and woodland.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Unseen Colour by Werner Bischof: Photography Exhibition
May. 10 am–5 pm
Unseen Colour presents a treasure trove of previously unknown colour images from the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Newark Park
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/gloucestershire-cotswolds/newark-park
May half term: Once upon a walk at Newark Park
23-31 May. 10 am–4.30 pm
Every hero’s story begins with a choice… Get out in the great outdoors and choose which hero you will become this half term at Newark Park.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Art in Action with Yasmin Jones
22-26 May. 11 am-4 pm
Yasmin Jones will be returning as an Artist in Residence at Newark Park in the garden hall for the May Bank Holiday. She will be displaying some of her beautiful watercolour artwork inspired by spring blooms, views and wildlife at Newark Park.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Stourhead
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/stourhead
May play days
23-31 May. 9.30 am–4.30 pm
Enjoy volunteer-led crafts, hanging out with the hobby horses, playing games and zooming about on ride-on tractors. And there’s more fun inside the granary, where you can put on a show with the puppet theatre or discover games and books under the branches of the story tree.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Drawn to Trees: tree trail
May-December. 9.30 am–4.30 pm
Each stop along the trail showcases one of seventeen trees that have inspired myth, folklore or quiet reflection across cultures and centuries, each hand‑selected for their beauty, historical significance and the stories that surround them. Drawn to Trees is a celebration of our enduring fascination with trees and a reminder of how deeply we are rooted in the natural world.
Price: £2 per trail booklet (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Spring scavenger hunt
May. 9.30 am-4.30 pm
Pick up a spring scavenger hunt sheet at Visitor Reception and see what you can discover in the garden.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Drawn to Trees: Tree Zodiac exhibition
May-November. 9.30 am-4.30 pm
Inspired by an ancient Celtic zodiac rooted in the thirteen lunar months, each associated with a different tree or plant, Luke Adam Hawker has created a series of thirteen intricate etchings that explore personality traits drawn from the character and symbolism of each species.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Tyntesfield
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/tyntesfield
Reviving Gothic at Tyntesfield
May-July. 10.30 am-3.30 pm
romantic renewal, 19th century revival and modern re-invention, Gothic has long offered people a way to express who they are, and to navigate the ideas, emotions and challenges of their time.
Price: Free event (normal admissions apply). Booking not required.
Bath Assembly Rooms
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/bath-assembly-rooms
Crafting Your Story exhibition at Bath Central Library
May (excl Sundays). 9.30 am-4.30 pm
Visit this exhibition of crafts and artwork made by five carers, inspired by social connection, local heritage and personal stories.
Price: Free event. Booking not required.
