National trust not opening outdoor playgrounds

[Snailsetssail]

Is anyone else getting frustrated with the National Trust not reopening their outdoor playgrounds? I only pay NT membership because we visit a local site with a good play area that my small children love. There are no plans to reopen it soon, despite the government advice allowing it.

All our local NTS property play parks are still shut too.

Of course it doesn’t form part of its mission statement. Who on earth would sign up to an organisation that publicly stated they were “For people with aspirations above their station”?

And in normal times, I have no objection to the playgrounds, actually, the contain the children of the mobile phone wielding mothers perfectly. Unlike a week or two ago when we had to ask a mother to move her children so we could move across a bridge because she was too absorbed in a game of something to notice they were blocking the path.

At the moment however, with restricted access to keep visitor numbers within safe parameters and presumably the NT working on the theory that shorter visits will take place if not all the facilities are open so they can have more tickets available, I would prefer more tickets for more people and no playgrounds.

^

The above post says a lot about this poster.

The NT website says that you must arrive within 10 mins of your allotted slot and then you can stay all day so the only time restriction is your arrival time.

If they opened up the facilities then they could generate more income and have less debt and then maybe less redundancies.

What a strange view of the world!
I want NT playgrounds open because it’s the school holidays and rather than sitting on screens, I want DS outside playing. We go to local parks where they are open but sometimes we book a day at a NT for a change of scenery and lovely gardens. The social class of the other children playing would never cross my mind.
We got life membership as a gift a while ago.
I had tears from DS at Wallington because he saw the closed playfort and he wanted to go on it. He’s a child and wants to play.
If pubs are open, playgrounds should be too!

I find it utterly baffling that the NT are preparing to open their indoor cafes (end of this month at the one we went to last week) and have already opened some of their houses, yet a playground is too “dangerous”.

Wash you hands. Sanitise when you cannot wash. Keep your distance where possible.

Yes I am a parent and do people seriously think children don't spread covid? Why is it different to every single other virus then?!

I'm surprised at people saying they pay NT membership for playgrounds. Seems an expensive subscription when you can go to the park for free. Perhaps the poster above has got a point about people wanting more exclusive play areas?

Does it matter why people like the playground? I couldn’t honestly care. Rather than thoughts of social cleansing, I’d have thought it’s much more likely people like taking their kids for a walk and using the play area as part of a nice day out.

Children need to play, the NT is choosing not to open when they could and they have a lot of family members that are a bit disappointed. That is quite understandable.

@Sailingblue

Does it matter why people like the playground? I couldn’t honestly care. Rather than thoughts of social cleansing, I’d have thought it’s much more likely people like taking their kids for a walk and using the play area as part of a nice day out.

Children need to play, the NT is choosing not to open when they could and they have a lot of family members that are a bit disappointed. That is quite understandable.

Particularly from an organisation that encourages things like 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 because it recognises the value of learning through play and experience.

@Lucindainthesky

Yes I am a parent and do people seriously think children don't spread covid? Why is it different to every single other virus then?!

I'm surprised at people saying they pay NT membership for playgrounds. Seems an expensive subscription when you can go to the park for free. Perhaps the poster above has got a point about people wanting more exclusive play areas?

Because the tentative evidence from multiple sources is that children have good T cell protection from Covid rather than building antibodies.

Because despite schools being open around the world, there is no evidence of children spreading the virus around. School cases tend to be adult to adult. There is an absence of mass cases involving children spreading to each other. With millions of children back at school this would have occured and been reported if it was occuring, especially in younger age groups that do not naturally keep their distance from others.

Spread is mainly indoors, from prolonged contact in poor ventilation or close contact. Not outdoor spaces exposed to UV light and dynamic air movements.

I'm disappointed they are not open as they are a big part of our trips and it's a long way for us to go for our 5-year-old to see them closed. They are normally the carrot on the stick to get him walking around the large estates which we enjoy more than him. I did feel a bit guilty for applying for the 25% discount next year, but I don't now. 25% of our family is not getting their money's worth!

I'm guessing one of the issues is that playgrounds encourage families to hang around in one place for long periods of time not spending any money creating a bottleneck in one way systems. (I'm basing this on a recent trip to a local EH property also with a closed playground)

Our local one you can’t even go in the forest but or any of the main walking bits. Parks closed and house. Only thing you can do is walk one direction around a small square of garden.
Baffling why they have opened when other than a square it’s all closed.

Honestly the NT is having a very rough time of it at the moment.

It won’t look the same in the future as pre-covid. They have loses of 200million.

Some of the issues with the outdoor playgrounds are they need general running repairs and safety checks to open, they simply don’t have the money or resources to fund this. The properties are living a very hand to mouth existence. Next week the redundancies will be happening-staff are understandably on edge. For some it’s not only their job, but their home as well. I’m sorry playgrounds aren’t opening as quickly as you’d like, but there are reasons.

We went to Gibside a few weeks ago and to be honest we shouldn't have bothered. It was boiling hot. The grass hadn't been cut so it was difficult to find anywhere to picnic. The picnic benches had all been removed so near the cafe people were sitting in the dirt to eat ice creams.
We made the best of it but it was disappointing for the children and for me, it just felt like a shadow of its usual self!
We've had a week away in Yorkshire and its been brilliant, all parks open, eating out, funfairs, all well managed. And nobody has to use these facilities if they don't want. Our local parks trust hasn't opened parks yet. It's not fair.

Also the social distancing and limited tickets was way OTT at Gibside you had to park with a space between you and next car. You don't have to do this at a supermarket! And we saw maybe 20 other people while we were there.

Does anyone know if the wild play area is open at Croft castle?

@DobbyTheHouseElk

Honestly the NT is having a very rough time of it at the moment.

It won’t look the same in the future as pre-covid. They have loses of 200million.

Some of the issues with the outdoor playgrounds are they need general running repairs and safety checks to open, they simply don’t have the money or resources to fund this. The properties are living a very hand to mouth existence. Next week the redundancies will be happening-staff are understandably on edge. For some it’s not only their job, but their home as well. I’m sorry playgrounds aren’t opening as quickly as you’d like, but there are reasons.

But very similar properties are managing to open their playgrounds? I've visited three different NT-type attractions near me in the past month, all with open playgrounds. I'm not sure why its possible for - say - Castle Howard, but not for an NT-owned equivalent of Castle Howard. I'm aware these places are struggling & want to support them, but as a parent I need places my children enjoy too.

@katienana I live in Yorkshire & it does seem very different here? I think I'd have gone slightly mad by now if I still lived down south.

@DobbyTheHouseElk

Honestly the NT is having a very rough time of it at the moment.

It won’t look the same in the future as pre-covid. They have loses of 200million.

Some of the issues with the outdoor playgrounds are they need general running repairs and safety checks to open, they simply don’t have the money or resources to fund this. The properties are living a very hand to mouth existence. Next week the redundancies will be happening-staff are understandably on edge. For some it’s not only their job, but their home as well. I’m sorry playgrounds aren’t opening as quickly as you’d like, but there are reasons.

I would have thought opening a playground would be a quick win then. Unlike a cafe or shop, it doesn’t need continuous staffing, just (maybe) a safety check and some signs and hand sanitizer, which presumably they’ve done elsewhere at the property anyway. Then suddenly the place appeals to people with primary age children! I wouldn’t go as my daughter is 1 and I find old houses beyond tedious, but lots of people with primary kids would, as shown on this thread.

There are some very unpleasant and judgemental attitudes on this thread.

Says more about the poster than the people they are sneering about.

I don’t think you’ve understood my post.

If the NT playground needs a safety check to see if it’s safe to open who is going to check the equipment? If the relevant staff are furloughed ? If it needs a screw here or there, who will do it when the staff are furloughed?

It’s not about hand sanitizer or one way systems. It’s the weekly safety check to make sure the wooden planks your DC is walking on is safe. The ropes are secure etc.

Maybe the NT style attractions aren’t suffering the same way as the NT.

Our council playgrounds are not open either. I'm fuming!!

All council playgrounds open here. No cleaning or staffing going on as far as I am aware just a sign up about hygiene and “play at your own risk” etc.

Also annoyed at the NT for the same reason. We went to a major zoo the other day which was fine but again play areas closed. They told me that they they didn’t feel that they could police it/clean it properly and had responsibility to keep everyone inside the attraction safe. I think it’s a bit less straightforward than government just saying they can open but am also quite cross about it

We can't get tickets here. Best in mind there's a HUGE parkland the numbers are way lower than they could take.

It's frustrating as we can't even get into the grounds.

All our council playgrounds are open. I agree there needs to be clear instructions to wash hands before and after use and a "use at own risk" disclaimer by the playgrounds too.

The NT is only permitted to take 1/3 of the average historic visitor numbers for that day.

I honestly don’t know what the answer is. This is really serious and they are in difficulties. They have said they will not look the same as pre-covid as an organisation.

Maybe contact Hilary McGrady with your opinion. I’m sure you’d get a reply.