50 things to do before you’re 11¾ at Saltram

To help kids tick off their list of 50 things to do before you’re 11¾  the staff and volunteers at Saltram, near Plympton, are launching a number of activities to do on the estate this Bank Holiday Monday, including pond dipping, bird watching, building dens, geo-caching and creating wild art.

In a bid to help children reconnect with nature, the National Trust has asked more than 1,700 children to vote on their top ten outdoor activities from the list and reasons why, and then set about finding the ultimate places where they could be enjoyed. 

Over half of the children questioned (63 per cent) chose tree climbing, den building and bike riding as the top three activities to get them into the great outdoors. The children’s reasons were because these activities got them closer to nature and were activities you could do with your family.

Following last year’s success, the list of 50 outdoors adventures from National Trust staff has been updated for 2013. Fifteen new experiences were suggested by children across the country over the 2012 summer holidays, including star gazing and daisy chain making. Over 40,000 kids signed up to the initiative in its launch last year.

Evie McNamara, three, from Keyham Plymouth said: "Me and my daddy like flying our kite here and I really love playing in the pond looking for creepy crawlies and getting stickers in my book at the end."

Fiona Macmillan, Visitor Experience and Marketing Manager at Saltram commented: "We are really excited to launch ‘50 things to do before you're 11 ¾’ at Saltram this Bank holiday Monday. We have got loads going on for the whole family but especially for our under 12’s who can pick up their ‘50 things’ scrapbooks and tick loads off the list. After a pond dip and some birdwatching our younger visitors can even see what the shop has to offer with its special ‘50 things’ range."

Over the summer Saltram has lots of ‘50-things’-inspired activities taking place every day.

The 50 things website has loads of great information to help you tackle the 50 things adventures.