#EggsEverywhere ! Hop Along to your nearest National Trust Property for Chocolate Hunting Fun this Weekend.

Easter is early this year, but the weather is looking promising, should you wish to go egg hunting at the weekend. Cadbury have paired with The National Trust once again, to put on over 300 hunts across the country. Use the hunt locator on their site to see where your nearest event is being held.

It just so happened that we decided to take a spin to Mount Stewart today, one of the Northern Irish National Trust properties hosting a hunt. Their festivities run from Friday 23rd until Monday 25th, and for £1 each, your kids can take part in the lake lapping adventure. The parents get quite competitive at things too, as I remember from previous years! 

Bunny hadn't visited yet, but we had a nice visit and made a little video to share with you.

Coincidentlly we had planned to make our own treasure hunt for viewers of the Smix Brix YouTube channel. My friend Pamela had told me about an app that uses augmented reality called Aurasma.

How it works is person A takes a photo of say the harp, while standing at the red hand. They add the augmented reality aspect and save to Aurasma's database. Person B will come along, open their Aurasma app and stand where they've been told to stand, and point the screen's searching circles, which hopefully will circle in, then they will have the same augmented reality animation or video pop up on their phone. It's sort of like a trigger to make your device play a fun little gif or character.

The device you are searching with has to be online as it were. A non-sim iPad wouldn't work unless you somehow can connect to wifi or someone's phone's tethering. The video above will show you exactly where to stand, and what to point your device at to view the surprise animations. 

So Mount Stewart is a lot of fun this weekend. You may well bump into us again, as we will be back for the Cadbury hunt as usual.  also if you haven't been in a while it's worth going to see the house renovations. Touring the grand house is included in the entrance price.

Mount Stewart Festival of Light Event. Ten Magical Nights.

I'd heard good things about the Festival of Light at Mount Stewart, which returns this year from 20th-29th November. 

The preview night was wet & cold, and on the drive over we almost turned back three times, but I'm so glad we wrapped up and persisted!​

The house, lawns and lake walk are brought to life with grand & magical displays complete with atmospheric music. Booking is essential, you can do so here.

I've lots of lovely photos, but much like photos of fireworks, you have to really be there to experience the scale of the light installations. 

There are also large tepees with open fires to keep warm and dry in, with views of the lawns. 

It's a wonderful experience for all ages, and we will definitely make it a yearly event. The weather next year can only be better than our experience this year, and we still loved it! 

View across the lake

Cadbury Easter Egg Trails All Over the UK this Weekend. We Took Up the Quest at Mount Stewart.

We are just back from a lovely day out at Mount Stewart, one of the National Trust's Northern Irish properties. This long weekend, all over the UK, Cadbury are holding Easter egg trails, and you can find your nearest trail here.

We had a lot of fun. The trail costs £1 on top of National Trust admission. Your child receives a special Cadbury Passport, a Safari hat, and on completion of the trail each child gets an egg. 

Mini Hunter S Thompson

This is a 'stop taking photos and get on with the trail' face.

Michael with his egg

We brought a picnic, but there is also a small restaurant/cafe at the property.

On the way home to Bangor we cut across the peninsula and stopped in Donaghadee for a paddle and to share a parcel of chips. Perfect day.

A Grand Day Out- National Trust Property- Mount Stewart

Mount Stewart is a beautiful day out, only a thirty minute drive from Belfast. Despite living close by, quite embarrassingly I had never visited this National Trust property. As a child my parents took us to all the other properties in Northern Ireland, but bizarrely we never came to stroll the gardens of the estate closest to us. 

This gave me the chance to approach the day out as a true tourist. We picked the perfect day, warm, dry and a nice amount of visitors. We started with a picnic on the lawn, then explored the house gardens. The exquisitely kept gated gardens are peppered with fountains, topiary animals, exotic plants & trees and a menagerie of carved stone beasts. I adore topiary, but throw a couple of statues of dodo birds in there and I'm in garden heaven.  

Next we took the mile or so walk around the lake to find The White Stag in the meadows. Very peaceful.

We were lucky that day the house, which is still used as a residence, was open to the public. I was blown away by this part of the property. It is well into its refurbishment and the rooms are stunning. I highly recommend touring the house as part of your visit. I plan on returning some day in the autumn when my son is in school and getting a guided tour, as its my dream mansion, full of curiosities and I'm sure the curious tales behind the objects.

All in all, a fantastic day out, and very entertaining for little ones too. My son loved spotting the statues, unusual trees in the atrium and the treasure hunt in the grand house kept that part fresh for his tired eyes and legs at the end. If you live here, visit, if you don't, add Mount Stewart to your trip itinerary for a relaxing day out.