With the kids in Bristol: Tredegar House

Sundays are about family time: a chance to have a day out and get some fresh air, weather permitting. And so with the sun shining, we set off for picturesque Tredegar House, a National Trust property located just outside of Newport that was home to the Morgan family (rum lover Captain Morgan is a distant relative) for more than 500 years.

We arrived to a warm welcome and were soon strolling around the grounds to see the three gardens. The wild Orchard Garden is a labyrinth of walkways hidden by overgrowing bushes and plants, great for a game of hide and seek. Apple trees still grow along the brick walls, while old pipes snake through the garden that once heated hothouses full of tropical fruit.

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What my children were particularly drawn to was the large obelisk in the Cedar Garden, in memory of Sir Briggs. He was the horse ridden by Godfrey Morgan, the first Lord of Tredegar, during the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. The horse was brought back to Tredegar House where he died in 1874, and is joined by three more headstones to the family’s pets in the garden.

Finally, the Orangery Garden is beautifully manicured in an 18th century French style, with intricate designs created using different coloured gravels, stones and shells. It was simple but very impressive. In the Orangery itself, where the Morgan family grew fruit trees and later kept exotic birds, there were craft activities to keep the children occupied. The choice was simple: make an owl or a bird using the coloured paper and craft materials on offer. However, judging by the time they took to make their choice, anyone would have thought my children had been asked to solve world peace.

Getting crafty in the Orangery at Tredegar House

Having thoroughly explored the gardens it was time for a lunch stop, which as usual involved a picnic. I’d come prepared knowing that the Brewhouse tea-room was closed for essential maintenance. The Cedar Garden was apparently a favourite picnicking spot for the Morgans.

With the potential threat of rain for late afternoon we decided to take advantage of the dry weather and explore some of the 90 acres of parklands, starting with a leisurely walk around the impressive lake. We spotted a number of varieties of water birds on our stroll, including graceful swans and majestic herons. My children also made sure that we stopped to play a mandatory game of Poohsticks.

Birdlife is abundant on the lake at Tredegar House, which forms part of the 90-acre grounds

As we completed our turn around the park, the children were first to spy the playground, which they couldn’t help but sprint towards. Split into two halves, the playground caters for both young and older children with a great assortment of apparatus including metal climbing frames and swings.

With all of the outdoor areas covered we headed in to explore the house. While there has been a building on the site since the medieval era, the current building hails from the Restoration period. There was plenty to see and do – from the dazzlingly glitzy Gilt Room to spotting the carved oak faces in the Brown Room – and my children loved the New Parlour where they got to dress up and have a go at shadow puppets. They not only entertained us but also the other visitors who had come to see the house.

Going back in time with the dressing up box in the New Parlour

Below stairs, we explored the the servants’ quarters including the Great Kitchen with its enormous fire place, where my children were amused by the artificial food and kept asking if it was real. While the sumptuous feasts of the Morgan family ended in the 1960s when John Morgan died childless at the age of 54, the grandeur of the home has been carefully restored by the National Trust when they took it on in 2012. Tredegar House is definitely a grand place for a Sunday outing with the kids.

Entry to the house and parklands at Tredegar House costs £10.10 for adults and £5.05 for children, while annual National Trust membership starts from £69. Find out more at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tredegar-house