❄❄ Hope everyone is feeling suitably festive! ❄❄ Here are a few suggestions of places to visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/christ...

Another #FestiveFriday offering, and this time we’re heading to Cornwall, to the St Just area to find some ‘merriment holes’! These were drilled into stones by miners and quarrymen in the 19th century.

Cover to Cover: Christmas at Scotney in Kent Each room of the Victorian Mansion has been transformed with decorations inspired by books from Scotney's collection. From Alice in Wonderland to A Christmas Carol there's enchantment around every corner 🎄 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/s...

Not a bad office for the last drone survey of 2025 🌞🎄 - back at Penmaen Dewi/St David's Head in Pembrokeshire with the Matrice 4E for @rcahmwales.bsky.social

"Hidden Treasures of the National Trust" returns with a Christmas special this Friday (19th December) on BBC Two at 9pm. Viewers will have privileged access to three unique properties as they prepare for three very different Christmas celebrations: Cragside, Cotehele and Coleton Fishacre.

For #Hanukkah, we're visiting 1 Home Farm Drive, part of the Upton House estate. A former farm outbuilding, it was converted in the 1930s by the owners of the estate, the Bearsteds, for their family Rabbi to live in. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/oxf... Chag Sameach 🕎 #JewishCountryHouses

Throughout December we’ll be celebrating ‘Festive Fridays’, sharing the most tenuous links to festive-themed archaeological sites in the care of the National Trust! We’re starting with ‘Christmas Shaft’, an air shaft marked on the 1882 Ordnance Survey at Alderley Edge. bit.ly/3MbSqTI

Congratulations to all of the #CurrentArchaeologyAwards nominees! Cast your vote here: bit.ly/48zAZp3 We're also excited for the Current Archaeology Live conference next year which includes our @nts-archaeology.bsky.social colleagues on their their award winning #PioneeringSpirit whisky project!

Explore 700 years of festive cheer at Ightham Mote in #Kent: from yuletide folklore to Tudor festivities, a Victorian Christmas & the traditions of Charles Henry Robinson to the the nostalgia of 1985, the year Ightham Mote entered National Trust care 🎄❄️ www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/i...

*NEWS* Fundraiser launched to help buy land around Cerne Giant. NT Archaeologist, Steve Timms, said: “The acquisition will provide an opportunity for landscape scale research & investigation & help us manage the land in the most appropriate way.” www.nationaltrust.org.uk/services/med...

Last Wednesday over 50 HART (Heritage and Archaeology Ranger Team) volunteers, rangers, volunteer leads and archaeologists from across the South West came together at Barrington.

THANK YOU to Chartwell for hosting the regional meeting of our Heritage & Archaeology Ranger Teams - including attendees from Chartwell, Knole, Scotney, Osterley, Morden, Runnymede, Limpsfield, South Downs, Isle of Wight, Hinton Ampner, Nymans & Standen heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteer

NEW Toolkit: working with experts across a number of different institutions & with support from the Royal Historical Society, we're delighted to share this FREE resource for anyone interested in or involved with the conservation & interpretation of ruins. heyzine.com/flip-book/77... #ruins 🏰

This winter, many of the houses & gardens in our care will be transformed with Christmas illuminations. From spectacular light shows at big country houses to family-friendly twinkling trails, there's something for everyone 🎄 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/christ... ©National Trust Images/Rob Coleman

*NEWS* from #Chartwell for Sir Winston Churchill’s 151st birthday! To introduce this post is a painting by #Churchill showing the landscape & house that were so close to his heart. 🧑‍🎨C286 "A View of Chartwell", by Winston S. Churchill, c.1938, © Churchill Heritage Ltd. 🧵 @nationaltrust.org.uk

🎉🎉 Huge congratulations to Kayleigh Hibberd - winner of the Early Career Archaeologist Award at the Archaeological Achievement Awards! 🏆 #ChangingChalk @nationaltrust.org.uk @archaeologyuk.bsky.social @royalarchinst.bsky.social

Only a few hours left until we come together with archaeologists across the UK and Ireland to celebrate the 2025 #ArchaeologicalAchievementAwards! You can join us and cheer on the winners from home by watching our live-stream, starting 8 pm today 👉 www.youtube.com/live/GA6_QaE...

Today we’re celebrating #BedfordshireDay by heading to Dunstable Downs to explore thousands of years of human history, and the only recorded barrow cemetery in the county! 🧵

We’ve mentioned in posts earlier this month that the National Trust looks after almost 100,000 sites of archaeological and historic interest, but did you know that we also care for thousands of archaeological finds, and that you can explore them in our online collection?https://bit.ly/44iRYZV

The team recreating the famous Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon burial ship is inviting the public to name it! The Sutton Hoo Ships Company (SHSC) aim to complete the project next year before getting the ship on the River Deben in 2027. You can submit your nomination here: saxonship.org/suggest-a-na...

Can you believe it - it's 8 years since we set up our Facebook & 4 years since we started on Instagram! A huge THANK YOU to all our followers on both channels (nearly 17,000 of you on Facebook & 8,000 on Instagram) & also to the 4,000+ of you who are following us here. ✍️ Tom Gauld / New Scientist

Looking for something to do as the nights draw in? Earlier this year, during the #FestivalofArchaeology, three of our brilliant archaeologists provided an opportunity to learn more about the varied work they’re involved with. Head to the @archaeologyuk YouTube channel to watch: bit.ly/3LQtS2i

It’s #HillfortsWednesday! Did you know that there are more than 150 hillforts, hilltop and hillslope enclosures recorded on land cared for by the National Trust? They're amazing archaeological sites, but also real havens for nature. 🧵

This month we’re sharing different ways in which you can learn more about the archaeology at the places in the care of @nationaltrust.org.uk. As the colder, darker nights set in it can be nice to curl up with a good book, so here are some recent publications you might find interesting. 📚🧵

Earlier this year, the ‘Back When’ podcast was launched. You can join historians Helen Antrobus and James Grasby on your favourite podcast app, or the National Trust website, as they take you inside the stories of the people, places and moments that made us. Find out more: bit.ly/3JvN0lL

Start your week in Surrey! If you're looking for some Monday morning listening why not tune in to our podcast series exploring the landscapes and monuments in the Surrey Hills: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey... Be sure to check out Episode 1 which features our very own James Brown!

Did you know there's a website dedicated to helping you discover more about the archaeology and heritage cared for by @nationaltrust.org.uk? NT Heritage Records Online has been developed to promote, and provide access to, the National Trust’s archaeological and historic building database. 🧵

The only reason to be on #AncientBluesky it's #HillfortsWednesday 🥳🍻 Lou Barker facing the majestic cliff castle of Gurnard's Head, west Penwith, #Cornwall. The far end is crowded with houses & dominated by a towering outcrop ⛰️😮 In the care of @nattrustarch.bsky.social 📷 Yesterday

We're delighted to be working with MJC-Associates to record the graffiti & inscriptions at Stoneacre. The house is a medieval timber-framed building, with many later alterations to the fabric, including those undertaken by Aymer Vallance, who presented the house to the National Trust in 1928.

👻🎃 It’s All Hallows Eve, or Halloween! 🎃👻 There are many ancient buildings in the care of @nationaltrust.org.uk, so it's no surprise that some come with ghost stories and the chance to discover headless phantoms, tormented souls and even one spirit with a fondness for books!

We've partnered with Essex Place Services to offer a practical, 3-day building recording course in May 2026 at Knole, focusing on the Garden Wall to create a stone-by-stone record. The course includes a tour of Lord Sackville's Private Garden: www.placeservices.co.uk/conservation... #CPD #Training

In the lead up to Halloween, there are plenty of chances to learn more about the darker side of some of the places in the care of the National Trust! 🎃 👻 Image description: The silhouette of Corfe Castle in the dawn mist ©National Trust Images/David Sellman

In his latest podcast, @sirtonyrobinson.bsky.social is digging up the secrets of Sutton Hoo. He's joined by Professor Martin Carver and Laura Howarth, Sutton Hoo's Archaeology & Engagement Manager. Listen now: rebrand.ly/SirTonyRobin... 📸: National Trust Images/James Dobson @nationaltrust.org.uk

*NEWS* We’re delighted to share that from 2026, the National Trust will take on the care & management of Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust museums, collections & properties, supported by Department for Culture, Media & Sport funding. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/shrops... #industrialheritage

We're excited to be working with Wealden Archaeology Group at Scotney Castle! During October, the team has been undertaking GPR survey to learn more about the lost buildings depicted on 18th-early 19th century plans, to the west of the Old Castle. heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRec...

📣 Calling all young poets! 📣 The National Trust is partnering with the Young Poets Network to challenge you to write poems about the pasts and futures we share with nature. The challenge is for writers aged 5 to 25, based anywhere in the world.

*NEWS* #AttinghamUnearthed🏺 Recent excavations have uncovered remarkable insights into life on the fringes of #Wroxeter: archaeologists worked alongside volunteers & members of the public revealing an Iron Age roundhouse, a #Roman industrial complex & a shrine. #archaeology @nationaltrust.org.uk

Luke Jerram's Helios, a seven-metre spherical sculpture which is named after the sun god in ancient Greek mythology, will be viewable in the ruins of Fountains Abbey from 10am to 4pm, 11 and 12 October 2025. Please visit the link for more information: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorksh...

We've got a little update from the excavations on the lawns of the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire. Angus Wainwright, NT Archaeologist, says: "We teamed up with @oxfordarchaeology.bsky.social and Cambridge Archaeology Field Group to carry out this dig in front of hundreds of visitors." 🧵

Explore the story of the 3rd Earl of Sheffield & his enduring love & patronage of #cricket, from childhood games to creating a world class cricket pitch & hosting the Australian Cricket Team in 1896 in a new exhibition at Sheffield Park, until 23 November 🏏 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex...

*NEWS* We are delighted to share that Kayleigh Hibberd has been shortlisted in the Early Career Archaeologist category #ArchaeologicalAchievementAwards. The winners will be revealed on 28 November at Queen’s University Belfast. The event will be live streamed on @archaeologyuk.bsky.social's YouTube.

How’s everyone feeling?? #FridayFun

We can't wait to see and share the results!

It’s #LincolnshireDay, so we’re off to Gunby Hall to explore the site of a moated manor at the south of the Estate. Bratoft Moated Manor was the seat of the Markham family from 1409 to 1538. In 1495 the lands of Bratoft and Gunby and the moated site at Bratoft came into the family. 🧵

Find out more about some of London’s oldest pubs - including our very own George Inn - in this new article by @jpwarchaeology.bsky.social, cheers! 🍻

Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Duncan. You can find out more about the dovecote on National Trust's Heritage Records Online: heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRec...

Big news from #OutintheField at the Walled Garden excavations at Stourhead! ⛏ The team, led by @nationaltrust.org.uk archaeologist Steve, have uncovered a 19th-century cast iron stove, sitting in its original spot - the cellar of the pine house. 🧵

A snapshot of recent history at Sutton House - as part of a fire alarm upgrade project, we have some floorboards lifted & were able to look below them. All the finds post-dated the 1980s-90s restoration, including this @nationaltrust.org.uk centenary leaflet - lost almost 30 years ago to the day!

#HeritageOpenDays is now in full swing, with lots of events still planned for the rest of this week. The festival is running right through until Sunday 21st September, and you can find out more about which of our places are FREE to visit by visiting: www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on/sea...

#HeritageOpenDays is here to banish boredom this September, with thousands of free events and experiences celebrating the people, places, and stories that shape England’s heritage. 🧵 @nationaltrust.org.uk