Easter at The Treasure Houses of England

For eggciting Easter fun and spring time celebrations, head to the Treasure Houses of England for a brilliant bounty of children's entertainment – discover a veritable Easter eggstravaganza at a multitude of venues.    

Enjoy a Mad Hatter's Tea Party-themed Easter at Beaulieu to celebrate the arrival of a new Alice's Adventures in Wonderland topiary display. Tuck into a tea party of your own in the Brabazon Restaurant with White Rabbit biscuits and Cheshire Cat cupcakes. Follow an Easter Trail of hares, enjoy face painting, croquet and veteran cars motoring across the attraction. Then visit Driving Change, the new display with a talking crash test dummy at the National Motor Museum.

Join Blenheim Palace for an abundance of themed fun in the Pleasure Gardens this Easter, with a Giant Easter Egg Hunt, vintage fun fair and lots of other family activities, including appearances for children's characters, Punch and Judy shows, face painting and more! On Sunday 27th and Monday 28th March, the Pleasure Gardens will be joined by children's characters The Gruffalo and Tree Fu Tom. On these two days we will also have the Easter Bunny and stilt walkers joining the already exciting programme of entertainment.

Burghley's eggcellent Easter Egg Hunt will be taking place on Sunday 27 March – 11am – 5pm in the Gardens of Surprise. Follow the treasure hunt around and solve the riddle to claim your full size chocolate egg from the Easter Bunny. Parents are also asked to test their Easter knowledge to try and win a family Season Card. All entries will go in to the prize draw for a giant chocolate Easter Bunny.

Keep the whole family entertained this Easter at Castle Howard with traditional fairground rides, face painters and Giant egg trail at Castle Howard from Saturday 26 to Monday 28 March. Meet the Lost Explorers and Molly the Rabbit before setting off in search of the giant Easter eggs and big blooming flowers hidden among the trees.

Join Chatsworth for Easter in the house, garden and farmyard from 19 March – 10 April. During the school holidays take the Easter egg trail in the house and hunt for decorated eggs hidden among some favourite pieces, both new and old.  Search for golden eggs in the garden, and discover what's growing and changing this spring. Families can get their faces painted at Flora's temple and be entertained by a vintage barrel organ as well as getting crafty in the Stickyard with spring crafts. Get creative in the farmyard with Easter crafts, see the newly hatched chicks, and meet the lambs born this spring. Over the Easter weekend take a ride on the Easter Eggspress trailer ride taking lucky families on a ride through the park.

New for 2016! Come and explore the brand new Farm Experience at Harewood House. Join them this spring and see the latest additions to Harewood's animal family. Young farmers can meet friendly alpacas, learn about the family of pygmy goats and see the pot-bellied pigs enjoy a spot of lunch.

Hatfield House reopens on Easter Saturday, giving visitors the first chance to see the replica Mark IV Tank on display! The tank is the centre piece of the Tank Exhibition which marks the 100th Anniversary of the first official tank trails that took place in Hatfield Park in 1916. Hatfield Park Farm will be hosting some more traditional Easter events with quizzes, trails and an Easter Bunny Hunt.

Visit Holkham Hall for 'egg-citing' things to do over Easter 25- 28 March. Meet the Easter Bunny in the hall, join in Easter crafts or meet the Kiddy Cook team to decorate some tasty Easter treats. With a visit to the walled garden aboard the 'Easter Express' visitors will find a storyteller with plenty of tales to tell. The garden also plays host to lots of Easter themed arts and crafts and there will be fun trails to follow. Discover some special animals paying a visit from Melsop Farm and help Little Bo Peep find her lost sheep! There's a chocolate treat for all children.

This Easter join two weeks of Alice in Wonderland family fun at Leeds Castle, “the loveliest castle in the world”, from 25 – 10 April. With trails across the grounds for children, Mad Hatter's tea parties and croquet on the lawn with the Queen of Hearts, there are lots of reasons to visit again and again with your annual ticket! From the 25-28 March, meet Alice and her friends as they pop up across the grounds of the Castle and join in the hunt for the White Rabbit in the Woodland Walk. The gardens at the Castle burst into life in the spring and there is plenty of wildlife to spot too, including black swans, grey squirrels, kingfishers, geese, peacocks and ducks to name but a few.

Visit Woburn Abbey Gardens over the Easter weekend to take part in the super egg-citing Easter Trail! Little blue bunnies will be hiding all around the gardens, each bearing a letter clue; find all the rabbits and work out the anagram to win a chocolate prize! But be careful not to follow the wrong footprints along the way - lots of other animals may try and distract you from your quest!

Notes to editors

www.treasurehouses.co.uk

Treasure Houses of England

• The Treasure Houses of England are 10 of the most magnificent palaces, houses and castles in England today. Members are Beaulieu, Blenheim Palace, Burghley House, Castle Howard, Chatsworth, Harewood, Hatfield House, Holkham Hall, Leeds Castle and Woburn Abbey.
• One of the most compelling features of the Treasure Houses of England is that they all offer the visitor a living history. Most are still homes to the great families who have owned them for generations. Others keep their heritage alive by re-creating scenes and events that have dominated and shaped England from the 9th century to the present day.
• Between them they house some of the most important art collections in the world with famous works from artists such as Van Dyck and Gainsborough. The connoisseur of fine furniture, porcelain and china will find priceless examples of Chippendale, Wedgwood and Meissen.
• Each house is an architectural masterpiece surrounded by beautiful parklands and gardens.