Explore, discover and have an adventure, before you’re 11 ¾

National Trust Press Release

The National Trust’s list of 50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾ has changed with new fun and thrilling things to do. To celebrate, the National Trust’s Longshaw Estate in the Peak District will be holding a big launch weekend on May 4^th-6^th bank holiday weekend.

The National Trust’s list of 50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾ is all about getting children closer to nature and enjoying the outdoors. Some activities on the list involve mild peril, with a risk worth taking to have fun while exploring the great outdoors.

Visitor Experience Intern, Sarah Taylor, says: “Get ready for a weekend of bug hunting, pond dipping, geocaching, and kite making and flying at Longshaw!  There are loads of activities planned for the launch weekend, with something different each day. On Saturday we will be discovering what lurks in the Longshaw pond. The Kitchen Garden volunteers will be about on Sunday with activities to tick off ‘plant it, grow it, eat it’. To finish off the weekend on Monday families will be hunting for bugs”.

Throughout the weekend children can have a go at making their own kites from recycled materials and test them out, enter the wild art competition, using Longshaw as a canvas to collect sticks, stones mud and mess to create a masterpiece. There will also be the chance to try out Longshaw’s brand new geocaching trail, set up especially for the 50 things launch weekend.

There will be new scrap books for remembering outdoor adventures and “fortune tellers” to make and take home to help complete all 50 things.

The 50 things to do list is a year round offer, not just one weekend, so to keep in the spirit we will be holding 50 Things Thursdays through the summer holidays at Longshaw with pond dipping and mini raft making.

Longshaw is an excellent place to tick as many things of the list as possible, with rocks, rivers, moors, woods, hills and hiding places to explore and discover.

Little Miss Hungry: The Penny Pot Cafe

Great review of our cafe in Edale Valley, why not have a read and then pop along and sample the cakes

Little Miss Hungry: The Penny Pot Cafe: As I mentioned last time, cake is one of my favourite things (along with most other sweet treats). One of Mat's favourite things is walking up hills, especially in the Yorkshire Dales or – more commonly since moving to Sheffield - the Peak District.

CELEBRITIES STEP BEHIND THE CAMERA

Johny Pitts reveals Upper Derwent Valley as his favourite National Trust place  

Celebrities are used to life in front of the lens but this spring stars from the world of sport, film and TV take a turn behind the camera.

Johny Pitts, CBBC Children’s TV Presenter, chefs The Fabulous Baker Brothers and England and British Lions rugby ace Austin Healey are among those who have shared photographs of the places that mean the most to them as part of a nationwide initiative by the National Trust to celebrate the importance of ‘special places’ in people’s lives.  The campaign follows research undertaken by the charity which found that 84 per cent of Brits have a favourite place they go to which positively affects their wellbeing and happiness. 83 per cent of people in Midlands also revealed they had a favourite place.

Photographs by the celebrities are being showcased on a new app created by the National Trust to encourage people to share their favourite place and why it means so much to them. The app will also feature places that are important to National Trust staff and volunteers and members of the public.

Johny Pitts decided to share Crook Hill in the Upper Derwent Valley, Peak District as his favourite place based on his childhood memories.  Johny took part in a photoshoot on Crook Hill and he can be seen drinking in the magnificent views of the Upper Derwent Valley.

Included on the app are other well-known names such as Nell McAndrew with photographs of Ham House in London, whilst Kim Cattrall shares memories of Blickling Estate in Norfolk, describing it as it as a perfect day when she visited with family. Other celebrities involved include The Fabulous Baker Brothers, Tom and Henry Herbert, who chose Dyrham Park near Bath after family picnics there and its spectacular views across the South Gloucestershire countryside. Musician Gary Kemp chose the Lake District as his special place after summers spent holidaying in the heart of National Trust countryside, sharing a picture of his son topping a Lakeland Fell.  

Johny Pitts comments, “Growing up on a council estate in Firth Park, Sheffield it always astounded me that a mere 20 minute drive away was this incredibly peaceful place full of natural beauty.  As a child I was also bewitched by the spooky ties to World War II and the Dambusters, and of the sunken village beneath Ladybower reservoir.”

“They call Sheffield the 'dirty picture in the golden frame' and I think when you live in a post-industrial city it is easy to identify with the old factories and terrace houses, and to forget that some of the world's most beautiful scenery is on your doorstep.”

“Lots of people have special places that evoke happy memories so I think it’s great that the National Trust is encouraging people to share their love and give these places the importance they deserve.”