Wilton House hosting Easter trail this Easter half-term

Kids can join the hunt to help the Easter Bunny and his toy friends find all of the lost eggs, in a "fun-filled trail" at Wilton House near Salisbury this Easter holiday.

The Easter Bunny and the Lost Eggs Trail is being organised by the Wiltshire’s children’s hospice, Julia’s House.

Help the Easter Bunny find his toy friends (Image: Julia's House)

The family event runs from Thursday, March 28 to Saturday, March 30, from 11am to 5pm (last entry, 4.30pm).

All money raised from the trail will support the charity, which provides a lifeline of care for families of the most seriously ill children across Wiltshire and Dorset.

Running for the third year, the Easter trail will take children on a new trail route past the whispering seat, along the River Nadder and through the woodland in the enchanting grounds of Wilton House.

Children of all ages will be invited to follow a map to find the lost eggs and search for different letters to crack a secret password to collect their chocolate reward. There will be 11 large and colourful eggs to hunt for in total – all of which were accidentally lost by Easter Bunny’s dear toy friend, Rocco Robot.

Help the Easter Bunny find his toy friends (Image: Julia's House)

Beautifully illustrated by Wiltshire-based artist and book designer, Chantal Bourgonje, the colourful and whimsical characters which can be found along the trail have been created especially for the event.

Julia’s House Events Fundraiser, Chantelle Shave, said:  "We’re thrilled to be hosting our Easter trail event for Julia’s House in the glorious grounds of Wilton House again this year.

"We’re planning an exciting few days of activities at our Julia’s House tent on the lawn, and of course, we’ll have piles of chocolate eggs to collect as well.

"We hope everyone will come along to help poor Rocco Robot and all the Toys find Easter Bunny’s lost eggs."

Chantelle added: "Around 1,500 egg-seekers joined our hunt last year and helped us to raise an incredible £9,000 to support our compassionate care for seriously ill children and their families.

"As a charity, we rely almost entirely on kind donations to fund our vital hospice service, and events like our Easter Trail are a wonderful way to fundraise and have lots of fun at the same time."

The Easter Bunny and the Lost Eggs Trail will run in the first week of Wilton House Grounds opening for 2024, and is kindly sponsored by Salisbury-based pensions company Nucleus.

Set in 21 acres of landscaped parkland beside the River Nadder and Palladian bridge, Wilton House is home to the 18th Earl and Countess of Pembroke. Visitors can discover a large adventure playground, woodland walks, rose and water gardens and an airy Café and gift shop.

Visitors will also discover a range of activities and fun at the Julia’s House family tent on the Wilton House lawn, where they can purchase trail maps on the day and collect their chocolate goodies.

To celebrate this Easter event, Julia’s House is hosting a free prize draw with the chance to win Wilton House Family Garden Membership. Readers can head to the charity’s Easter event page to find out more and enter: www.juliashouse.org/Eggs

Easter Bunny and the Lost Eggs Trail runs from Thursday, March 28 to Saturday, March 30, from 11am to 5pm (last trail entry at 4.30pm).

Trail entry costs £4 per child, including a chocolate egg prize, with all proceeds going to Julia’s House children’s hospice charity. There is no need to pre-book. Normal admissions to Wilton House Grounds apply.

Find out more at www.juliashouse.org/Eggs