Although this wasn’t my first visit to Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, I haven’t written a review until now because my last visit was pre-blog. In fact it was pre-Smallest Child! At that stage I was too scared to take children into NT houses. However, we’ve been back at this time we’ve been inside the house as well.
The house
A fair few rooms in the house are open to explore and the staff are really knowledgeable. And eager to share their knowledge. Once you’re in the house it actually feels surprisingly small and not particularly grand, but there’s some interesting things to see.
The Drawing Room has this amazing ceiling. It’s an add-on that’s so heavy it’s making the house fall down. The first thing the National Trust had to do when they took over was build a metal support structure to keep it up.
Favourite room in the house – The Book Room. I think Hubby wants to live here forever. This room literally has everything he wants from a room! Lol.
The gardens
Part of me wants to say the gardens here are quite small. Not like actually small. Like a normal person’s garden, but still small for a stately home. They’ve got an impressive display of snowdrops in the winter. They’ve got a really good fruit and vegetable garden which is great for the kids to explore. Plus, the green court is perfect for playing hide and seek for ages!
The parkland is accessible from the garden. Realistically it’s just a large field and there wasn’t anything really of interest in the parkland on the walk around. It’s a walk to stretch the legs, but it’s not exactly an inspiring one.
The Spinney and Wild Play Corner
These are the best family friendly elements at Canons Ashby are the spinney and wild play corner. Neither of these are particularly big areas, but you can spend quite a long time playing here if you want to. It’s also right by the main picnic area (and car park) so you could just set up camp for hours and let the kids get on with it.
The day that we visited Canons Ashby to do this review the weather was pants. It was the tail end of the third storm in a week. Just the odd shower and quite strong winds but at times it made you think twice about being outside! The wild play corner is theoretically basic – it’s just variations of wooden stumps and branches, but the kids loved it.
The spinney is full of bug houses, bird hides, rotting log piles, willow tunnels and other ways for kids to connect with nature. There’s also a little wooden pig in here. His name is Robert (now) and my kids have adopted him.
Our Canons Ashby Review
This visit to Canons Ashby was much longer than our first one and we had a really good time, despite the weather. I don’t think the spinney and wild play corner were here the first time I visited Canons Ashby so I’m glad I went back to do this review. They’re both great additions. I don’t think you’d be here all day unless it was a really nice day and the kids were really loving the playground areas.
Admission cost
2 adult family – £30.30, 1 adult family £18.20. Family includes up to three children. National Trust members go free. Membership starts at just £10 per month. Find out more about joining here (Affiliate link).
Parking / How to get there
Parking – Free carpark on-site
Address – near Daventry, Northamptonshire, NN11 3SD
Toilets
On-site, including baby change
Food
Picnics allowed, cafe on-site
What else is there to do nearby?
We visited Upton House on the same day as it’s only a short drive away, or Compton Verney in Warwickshire.
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Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.
You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook
