We recently visited Nostell Priory a National Trust site just on the edge of Wakefield. We had spent some lovely days there last summer so this time visited with friends. I wanted to take part in the big butterfly count too and I know Nostell has an abundance of fantastic butterflies. I downloaded the spotter sheet from the butterfly count website and took it along, armed with a handful of pens.
The parkland is lovely and we spent the morning walking around the grounds, past the lake with a mission to make it into the quiet meadow to butterfly watch. We promised the kids that after butterfly hunting we would play football and have a picnic, and this was the incentive to get them to walk a few miles. The lake didn’t disappoint and just through a wooden section we came to the bank where there was a swan and her little ones. From there we carried on into the meadow walking quietly around the edge.
The butterfly count takes 15 minutes and with a spotter sheet you are to count how many butterflies you see. We had a slow start but as we walked along the butterflies were everywhere and we had trouble keeping track of who we had counted! Just as our fifteen minutes were up a red admiral butterfly made a spectacular entrance nearly landing on my head as it wanted to be counted. The kids loved this activity butterflies.
As tummies began to rumble we headed for the front of the house where we planned to have our picnic. The sun made a strong appearance and we had a great lunch followed by football and Frisbee playing.
The children were shattered after all the walking and activity and we had a great day out in the lovely grounds. You can pay to get into the beautiful gardens or if you’re a National trust member it’s free. There are activities for the children over the summer in the gardens too and a playground. I keep meaning to look into to becoming a member. We made our own fun this time and found enough to keep us entertained and outdoors.
Are you a National Trust member? Or have you been on a butterfly hunt? Let me know in the comments.
We paid £4 to park all day.
You can log your butterfly sightings till the end of August.
All views are honest and my own and I’ve received no incentive to write this blog post.