National Trust announces May half term activities in Bath & Bristol

National Trust places are hosting an array of family friendly activities during May half term across Bath and Bristol.  From getting lost in the magical world of Alice in Wonderland to creating your own colourful collaged birds and creating a Georgian lady paper doll to animal antics there’s lots to keep the whole family entertained. 

What’s more, every time you experience a National Trust day out, you help care for these special places for future generations. 

Here's what’s happening in and around the two cities this May half term - please check the venue websites for opening days and times:  

Bath Assembly Rooms  
Music and Fashion Crafts: 28 May – 2 June, 10am – 3pm 

Come and have a go at some new craft activities this May. The theme is fashion and music so expect paper fans, create a Georgian lady paper doll and you can even practice fan language used in the 18th Century. The famous musician Chevalier de Saint-Georges once visited Bath Assembly Rooms and you'll be able to find out a little bit more in a fun musical way. 

Price: Free. Booking not required.  

Image: Exterior of Bath Assembly Rooms, credit Alana Wright

Dyrham Park  
Animal Antics: 24 May – 2 June, 10am – 5pm 

Crawl like a caterpillar, wriggle like a worm, hop like a bunny and leap like a frog this May half term at Dyrham Park. 
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required.  

Alice in Wonderland Outdoor Theatre, presented by Folksy Theatre: 1 June, 6.30 – 7.30pm 

Come along and make some of the strangest and most peculiar friends, including the mysterious Cheshire Cat, the Wacky Mad Hatter, the bizarre blue Caterpillar and the foul-tempered Queen of Hearts. 
Price: £14 Adult / £12 Child (normal admission applies). Booking is essential via the website. 

Image: Deer at Dyrham Park, credit James Dobson

Prior Park Landscape Garden  
Endangered Animal Trail: 25 May – 2 June, 10am – 4pm 

Eight animals have been hidden in the greenery of the garden. Can you identify them all? Find the endangered species that are spread around the garden, read the clue and see if you can workout what they are. You'll also be able to read a bit about the work that's been happening at other National Trust locations to help reintroduce or protect the environment for these species. 
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required. 

Image: Prior Park, credit National Trust 

Tyntesfield  
Craft a Colourful Bird: 25 May – 2 June, 10.30am – 3.30pm 

Inspired by ‘Echoes from the Aviary’; a sound and collage installation filling Tyntesfield’s aviary this spring, have a go at creating your own colourful collaged birds in this free family drop in. 
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required. 

Sunshine on the Fallen Tree: Daily, 10.30am – 3.30pm 

Pif Paf’s Sunshine on the Fallen Tree is an immersive sound and light sculpture, made from Ash trees felled due to Ash Dieback, traditionally steam bent and set with re-usable innovative technology. 

Walk through its branches and be seated in the canopy, bath in its flickering light as a sound composition takes you through movements of a requiem and sonic memories of the tree, inviting you to reflect on the decline of the Ash Tree and the energy and optimism we need to fill the spaces as we lose so many species to climate change. 

The sound composition was created by Eleanor Hooper and Kate Griffin, and together makes a very moving 12-minute experience. 
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required. 

Echoes from the Aviary: Daily, 10am – 5.30pm  

Colour, collage and sound are filling the aviary this spring. A group of young people from Hartcliffe have been working with artists Oshii and Jono Gilmurray to create a sound and visual art installation for Tyntesfield’s aviary. The group explored the history of the building and the bird life that would have inhabited it. They also delved into the significance of birds to Tyntesfield’s wider history and how the mining of seabird droppings (guano) for fertilizer made William Gibbs his fortune. The final artwork not only explores these histories but encourages us to learn from them and think about how we can look after nature and our birdlife in future. Echoes from the Aviary is a collaboration between the National Trust and Heart of BS13 and is supported using public funding by Arts Council England. 
Price: Free (normal admission applies). Booking not required. 

Image: Tyntesfield, credit James Dobson