The Buscot and Coleshill Estates NT

Home
United Kingdom
Swindon
The Buscot and Coleshill Estates NT

Buscot and Coleshill are two villages with their surrounding patchwork of water meadows, fields, park

03/09/2026

We have news! 🎉 We're launching a new weekly Saturday Club at the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre, offering young people aged 13-16 a chance to ‘grow wild’ across the new school term.

The new club is aimed at young people aged 13-16 who want to explore the natural world, learn practical skills and help contribute to a healthier, more sustainable environment.

It's all part of the Saturday Club’s Society and Change subject area and will include hands-on activities, including the chance to help restore healthy hedgerows and wetlands, conduct wildlife surveys and discover how regenerative farming works to improve soil health, support wildlife and produce sustainable food.

The new club, Grow Wild, will run alongside our Craft and Making Saturday Club, which we also ran from October 2025 until July 2026. 14 local young people took part in free weekly sessions and developed skills in silver smithing, lime plaster pargetting, weaving, green woodworking, and blacksmithing before taking part in a celebratory Summer Show at Somerset House in London!

All sessions are free and take place during term time. Applications close on Monday 28 September.

To find out more about this year's clubs, click here: https://saturday-club.org/club/buscot-and-coleshill-estate/

📸: Steve Sayers/National Trust Images

20/08/2026

Last week, some of the team were out and about testing local water courses.

This involved checking the levels of phosphates and nitrates in the water. In the right quantities, these are vital for healthy habitats, but in excess, they can be harmful.

During the tests, the team found a huge area of frogbit, an aquatic plant that is rarely seen in Oxfordshire.

With its white flower, it looks like a mini water lily and provides vital shelter for tadpoles, fish and dragonfly larvae.

📸: National Trust Images

19/08/2026

Looking for something to do this weekend? Join us for Discover Coleshill on Saturday 22 August and experience the village in full - including some areas that are not usually open! Here are our top tips for making the most of your day out:

💚 Take a peek inside Coleshill’s top-secret Second World War guardhouse and bunker
💚 See the historic watermill in action (if conditions are right!)
💚 Stop for brunch, lunch or an afternoon pick-me-up at Blake’s Kitchen
💚 Visit the site of Coleshill House, lost to fire in the 1950s, and learn more about its history
💚 Browse the shelves to find your next great read in our second-hand bookshop
💚 Tour the studios and meet the makers at the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre NT
💚 Stroll through the parkland and join a guided walk to learn more about how the National Trust is restoring nature across the estate.

Tickets are £12 per adult and £6 per child. Family tickets are also available.
Find out more and book your place here: https://rebrand.ly/EventsAtColeshill
📸: National Trust Images

10/08/2026

There are less than two weeks to go until Discover Coleshill, your chance to discover more about what makes this village so special. 💚

💚 Tour the site of where Coleshill House once stood, pictured here, which was sadly lost to fire in the 1950s.
💚 See inside the replica World War Two base and learn about the top-secret army that trained in the village.
💚 Take a look around the Heritage and Rural Skills exhibition and find out more about the craftspeople who work from the studios today, preserving and protecting traditional skills.
💚 Visit Coleshill's working water mill for a chance to see it in action.
💚 Join us for a guided walk and family activities and discover more about our ambitious plans to restore nature across the landscape.

Tickets are £12 per adult and £6 per child. Family tickets are also available.

Find out more and book your place here: https://rebrand.ly/EventsAtColeshill

📸: National Trust Images

06/08/2026

🥾Looking for a walk this weekend?

We have renewed our walking trails, introducing 5 new routes, varying in length between 1.8 miles and 10.5 miles, meaning you can pick your favourite way to explore the estate. You can choose from:

🦆Thames Walks (5 miles)
🐄The Cole and its Landscape (4.5 miles)
🌳Coleshill Parkland (1.8miles)
🌾Ancient History and Agriculture (4 miles)
🏰Follies, Forts and Farms (10.5 miles)

Each walk is themed and keep an eye out along the trails for more information on historic highlights, nature conservation and farming life.

All of the walks are now on our website (link below👇🏼) and information is available at Coleshill Home Farm. Happy hiking!

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/buscot-and-coleshill-estates

02/08/2026

🏛️ New Acquisition at Buscot Park

We are excited to share news of the acquisition of Henri de Triqueti's Medallion Portrait of Florence and Alice Campbell (1857) for the Faringdon Collection at Buscot Park.

Designated a national treasure in 2025 and placed under a temporary export bar, this remarkable sculpture has now been secured for the nation and returned to its historic home. Commissioned by Buscot's owner Robert "Tertius" Campbell, it depicts his daughters Florence and Alice, their interlaced hands and symbolic floral motifs representing purity, charity and sisterly devotion.

A rare surviving work by one of the Victorian era's most distinguished sculptors, the medallion was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1857 and offers a fascinating glimpse into both the Campbell family story and Triqueti's artistic legacy.

We're thrilled that this exceptional piece will remain on public display at Buscot Park, where it was likely first shown more than 160 years ago.

For more information on the Faringdon Collection, or how to visit take a look at their website: www.buscot-park.com

29/07/2026

Our next family activity afternoon, Busy Bees and Brilliant Pollinators, is coming up on the 4th of August, with a few spaces still remaining. Learn all about the work of bees, butterflies and other pollinators in our orchard before making a reuseable beeswax wrap to take home.

Booking & more info👇
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/buscot-and-coleshill-estates/events/bced6005-5e4b-4273-84bc-615e52f77350

28/07/2026

Today, 28 July, is , a day dedicated to promoting biodiversity and the protection of natural resources around the world. 🌍

At Buscot and Coleshill, we're helping nature to thrive across a working lowland estate. We're creating new wetlands, grasslands and hedgerows and working closely with local farmers to restore rivers, improve water quality and reduce flood risk. This includes:

💚Eight hectares of new woodland and 15km of hedgerow that are helping to connect habitats across the 3,000 hectare estate
💚 Two hectares of wetlands, which are now supporting rare birds such as lapwing, snipe and oystercatcher
💚 64 acres of parkland and six hectares of river corridor, improving access, biodiversity and natural flood management.

As extreme weather becomes more common, this work is helping wildlife - from lapwing to hares - bounce back, all while creating a model for nature recovery that could be repeated across lowland Britain.

Click here to find out more about the work we're doing: https://rebrand.ly/NatureEstate

📸: National Trust Images

16/07/2026

Summer's here and it's the perfect time to Discover Coleshill!

Join us on Saturday 22 August and explore everything that makes the village so special, and where beauty, history and nature combine for a great day out.

☀️ See inside the replica World War Two base and learn about the top-secret army that trained in the village.
☀️ Take a look around the Heritage and Rural Skills exhibition and find out more about the craftspeople who work from the studios today, preserving and protecting traditional skills.
☀️ Visit Coleshill's working water mill for a chance to see it in action.
☀️ Tour the site of where Coleshill House once stood, sadly lost to fire in the 1950s.
☀️ Join us for a guided walk and family activities and discover more about our ambitious plans to restore nature across the landscape.

Tickets are £12 per adult and £6 per child. Family tickets are also available.

Find out more and book your place here: https://rebrand.ly/EventsAtColeshill

📸: National Trust Images

Address

Coleshill
Swindon
SN67PT

Telephone

01793 762209

Website

http://nationaltrust.org.uk/buscotandcoleshill

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Buscot and Coleshill Estates NT posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to The Buscot and Coleshill Estates NT:

Want your organisation to be the top-listed Government Service in Swindon?