With the kids in Bristol: Easter at Tyntesfield

A place that is guaranteed to keep my children captivated is Tyntesfield, and as we’re now members of the National Trust, we decided to explore the grounds by taking part in the Victorian Easter Egg Hunt.

We picked up our map for the Easter Egg Hunt from the Piggery and off we went in search of mini activities. I tried to explain to the children that we were walking in the shoes of the Victorian explorer Mary Kingsley, however, they were more interested in collecting the winter leaves and smelling the flowering buttercups and daisies.

Our journey took us around the top of the estate and through the forest. The plan was to hunt down the spiders that had infested the woodlands, as this was one of the stops on the trail. As we tentatively headed to where the spiders were supposed to be hiding, my youngest dug his heels in and in no uncertain terms refused to go any further. It was at this point that I remembered that he is terrified of spiders and although I tried to explained to him that they were not real, there was no way he was moving. I decided this was not a battle I wanted to fight so we headed to the main house.

We’ve been to Tyntesfield quite a few times now over the last 12 months and somehow we’ve managed to time it in such a way that there’s something new to discover on each visit.

The theme at the moment is ‘Fire and Wire’, which is related to the house undergoing a major conservation project to replace the fire alarm system. My children found this fascinating: not because they are particularly interested in fire alarm systems, but because the challenge in the house this time was to find the hidden fireman. Some of the volunteers have knitted several small firemen, which have been hidden in plain sight around the house – such a good idea. For my children, this turned into a sibling competition about who could find the firemen first. Well, my daughter thought it was a competition. My son was just humouring her.

Other treats waiting for the children included trying on firemen’s helmets across the decades, all of which were surprisingly heavy. There were also a couple of wire loop games – and obviously, I had to have a go – but my daughter wasn’t impressed by either my performance or the noise, whereas my son thought the aim of the game was to set the buzzer off. Time to get back on the egg hunt.

We followed the path down to the bottom of the park where the children were challenged to draw their best tropical fish, and then, as the sun had come out, we had an ice cream stop and played in the little park. Job done. They were beginning to tire so we decided to hop on the minibus back to the start, where the children collected their Cadbury’s Easter eggs. With smiles on their faces, we happily left Tyntesfeld.

A family pass to Tyntesfied costs £39.00, while annual National Trust membership starts from £69. Find out more about visiting at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield.