I thought National Trust were child and dog friendly places?

[copernicium]

Visited a NT property and feel quite put off visiting again...

"Move those children away, they are wild animals you know" (even though adults were standing much closer) ... I did give the man the benefit of the doubt on safety grounds even though I didn't see an issue.

But then we tried to enter the area allocated for picnics at 11:54 - to be told we couldn't enter before noon with a dog.

Ok fair enough, so we snuck up a corner to let DC eat a sandwich sitting in the pram - to be told no picnics allowed.

So then we go and hover near to the picnic area, to be told to move the dog away from the entrance until noon. It must have been 11:59 by now.

Finally, time to enter the "picnic area" - to be looked up and down, this time at the dog and the lady said quite abruptly "is that what you call a short lead?" It's a 90cm lead, and nowhere in the admission details is this mentioned. She was trying to turn us away from the area because of the length of the dogs lead. Finally won that argument and allowed to pass.

By this point DC are very hangry so we pass through to the picnic area as quickly as possible, for a lady to stop us and say DC must move to the centre of the path in case they fall on the flowers and ruin them. They were walking quietly and sensibly, holding our hands, with no hint that they might suddenly run or fall on the flowers.

I know it was only a few comments, but it just felt like I couldn't do anything right all day, and that DC and dog were both very unwelcome. Arm I going to regret having membership?

I've never had this experience at a NT property and we have had membership for years. Some of the house guides are better with kids than others, but they are volunteers so they're not performing the same role as an employee. We have only taken the dog with us once, but had no issues either using the picnic area or walking round the deer park.

Our experience has always been much more welcoming and we’ve been visiting national trust places with a vocal toddler for the last 18 months. It saved us through the lockdowns! It’s been a while since we took a dog and I think that could be a bit harder sometimes as the formal gardens and areas around the houses do not often allow dogs.

Which property was this?

I've never had anything like this with kids. Picnics are allowed anywhere at the ones I've been to (apart from inside cafes or houses).

I don't know about dogs as not seen many there.

Yep. They’re Nazis.

I'm intrigued - what were the wild animals?

I did check before we went re the dog, and it states how much they love dogs and they are welcome, on the website.

Never had a problem with bossy guides and my children.
Email the property and tell them what you’ve shared here, and ask for an explanation.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

I'm intrigued - what were the wild animals?

Swans? Geese? Attack Peacocks?

Never had this at NT ever.
Were they wild animals? If so, I would do as I was told.
The rest of it sounds weird. Maybe a COVID hangover.

Never experienced anything quite so bad apart from one hilarious time when I was 17 years old and my sister was 27. We were at an NT property with our mum and it sold little bags of duck feed, my sister was scolded like a child by one of the volunteers for holding her bag of duck feed and told she would be in trouble if she spilled it. I was fucking howling.

Deer.

The image of a peacock attack is much scarier tbh 😆

I’ve always found the national trust pretty welcoming to both children and dogs

The only time we’ve ever been “told off” is when my FIL opened a very old, rare, expensive cabinet, which you’re obviously not allowed to touch. The woman in come over with a panicked “sir, sir you
Mustn’t touch that!” Honestly, you can’t take him anywhere 🙄

Not the experience I've had, I've been a member for years. All the staff and volunteers I've come across have been helpful and friendly and I've not known there to be restrictions on when and where you can have picnics.

What a terrible experience for you and your family! The National Trust advertises itself as a family-friendly environment and so I would definitely raise your concerns with the individual property you visited.

Where on Earth were you? That sounds like a really stressful day out.

@Smartiepants79 yes, I was annoyed that the adults that were way closer weren't even been looked at, but I did take his advice and gave him the benefit of the doubt. He could have used a nicer tone, but if it was just this one comment then I probably wouldn't have thought about it again.

Probably not fair to name and shame, if you all think this is not a typical experience. I'll email them though, as it was very stressful!

Which property was this at?
We are members and been to quite a few and not had any experience like this. Sounds bizarre and I'd definitely feedback via email about the experience

I’ve never had this. Dd used to love the way there was a ‘granny in every room’ because the room stewards were always so lovely to kids.
They did seem to get a bit uptight with COVID though so I have been avoiding them for the past year because I can’t bear pointless and sometimes self defeating restrictions. Maybe it’s a hangover from the general stressiness and they will calm down soon. It’s also possible they have had a lot of trouble with inexperienced dog owners lately so they are more uptight than usual about dogs.

We do at least one if not 2 NT places a week generally and I’ve never had an experience like you describe , granted I don’t have small children but do have a dog . I do wonder what criteria they use for where dogs are allowed as it varies so much on what seem to be pretty similar type properties .

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel we didn't plan on going inside, didn't even check if the building was open, this was all just the gardens!

Was it one in Kent OP? The mention of the deer and designated picnic area made me think it might be.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, they had to kill a deer last summer as it got aggressive after some people fed it - so I can imagine why the staff/volunteers might be a bit on edge!

That sounds like a horrible experience entirely. You should complain. You can probably do it via their website.

I've been a member for years, only thing I've ever been told off for was not having my dog on a lead when I should have at Lyme (I genuinely didnt see the sign) and that was fair.

My three are young with small age gaps and generally run wild but we don't get any bother.

Dyrham park?