Win a copy of ‘Garden Friends’ by Ed Ikin, as seen in our summer issue

photograph by Paul Lapsley

National Trust Magazine is delighted to offer two lucky followers the chance to win a copy of ‘Garden Friends’ by Ed Ikin, as featured on the shopping page of our summer 2012 issue (see http://www.nationaltrustmagazine.co.uk/ page 59!)

Penned by Ed Ikin, Head Gardener at Nymans in West Sussex, this practical guide covers all you need to know about attracting helpful mammals, plants, insects and amphibians into your own garden.

Terms and Conditions

Two re-tweets of the post by @NTMagazine on 17 May will be selected at random by an independent person to win a copy of ‘Garden Friends’ by Ed Ikin.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.

Win tickets and an exhibition catalogue to see the new Edmund de Waal exhibition at Waddesdon Manor

National Trust Magazine is delighted to offer a lucky follower the chance to win a pair of tickets and catalogue for the new exhibition Edmund de Waal at Waddesdon, which runs until 28th October.

About the exhibition

Waddesdon is collaborating with potter, artist and author Edmund de Waal on an exhibition of porcelain inspired by the Manor and its collections, and its Rothschild heritage. In ten installations specially made for spaces through the house, de Waal has created a series of contemporary responses both to the opulent materials, object and interiors, and to the family passion for collecting. As Edmund explains:

“Waddesdon is a fabulous faux-French château in the middle of Buckinghamshire, full of Sèvres porcelain and gilt furniture and extraordinary art.  It is a wonderfully nuanced bit of Rothschild assimilation into Victorian English society, a sort of dressing-up game on the grandest scale possible.

…. so I am making a series of vitrines of porcelain to put alongside all these other vitrines.  It is my take on family and display, I  intend it to be really beautiful and for it to be a way of thinking through, in visual terms, some of the ideas on belonging that drift through my book The Hare with  Amber Eyes.”

The porcelain, which includes garnitures, groups of objects and single pieces, is installed throughout the principle reception rooms on the ground floor in the Breakfast Room, Dining Room, Red and Grey Drawing Rooms, Morning Room and Tower Drawing Room. See www.waddesdon.org.uk for more information.

For more on new art at the National Trust, see our feature on page 68 of the summer magazine, out now.

Terms and Conditions

One re-tweet of the post by @NTMagazine on 10 May will be selected at random by an independent person to win a pair of tickets to see Edmund de Waal at Waddesdon, and the exhibition catalogue.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust and Waddesdon Manor or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.

Win a Wild Swimming app

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With wild swimming now one of the Trust’s 50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4 (https://www.50things.org.uk/) National Trust Magazine is delighted to be able to offer five lucky followers the chance to win a copy of the brand new Wild Swimming iPhone / iPad app for the UK – with all the places from Daniel Start’s original ‘Wild Swimming’ in Britain book (reviewed by us in 2008).

About the Wild Swimming app

If you’re exploring swimming spots in the UK this summer, the new Wild Swimming App (iPhone and iPad) has just won Sunday Times Travel App of the week and provides all the content from Daniel Start’s best-selling Wild Swimming guidebook to rivers, lakes and waterfalls; the adventure-lover’s cult classic that inspired television shows on BBC and ITV and has sold over 50,000 copies since 2008.

Priced at £4.99, the app comes with bundled new photography and brand new 1:25,000 OS topo maps, plus full search and ‘locate me’ functions. You’ll never need to search for a signal out in the sticks as it comes pre-loaded with 130MB worth of data.

It has links to the latest water quality information from the Environment Agency, as well as recommendations for nearby pubs.  For more information visit Wild Swimming App / http://www.wildswimming.co.uk/app.html

Find out more about the Wild Swimming series at www.swimming.co.uk.

About ’50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4′

The ‘50 Things to do before you’re 11¾’ initiative is in response to a report the National Trust commissioned which showed that fewer than one in ten children regularly play in wild places compared to almost half a generation ago, a third have never climbed a tree and one in ten can’t ride a bike.

The campaign provides a checklist for under-12s (and those who are young at heart) including everything from running around in the rain and bug hunting, to setting up a snail race, damming a stream, flying a kite and making a mud pie.

See our summer issue for more on the ’50 Things’ campaign, and visit https://www.50things.org.uk/ for more information and to get started!

Terms and Conditions

Five re-tweets of the post by @NTMagazine on 26 April will be selected at random by an independent person to win a Wild Swimming app.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.

Win tickets and an exhibiton catalogue to see the new Chardin exhibiton at Waddesdon Manor

National Trust Magazine is delighted to be able to offer a lucky follower the chance to win a pair of tickets and exhibition catalogue for the new exhibition Taking Time: Chardin’s Boy building a House of Cards and other paintings at Waddesdon Manor, which runs until 15 July.

Taking Time

Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild house in Buckinghamshire, invites you to a close encounter with the great 18^th century artist Jean-Siméon Chardin for an exhibition: Taking Time: Chardin’s Boy building a House of Cards  and other paintings and to explore a companion exhibition of exquisite 18^th century board games entitled: Playing, Learning, Flirting: Printed Board Games from 18^th Century France.

These exhibitions, for the Olympic year, see a focus on games of a different kind.  Taking Time: Chardin’s Boy building a House of Cards and other paintings will show a group of works by the great master that reveal his fascination with themes of play, childhood and adolescence.

The idea of staging this exhibition is prompted by Waddesdon’s recent acquisition of Boy building a House of Cards, one of four versions of the painting that will be united for the first time for this beautiful show.  The other three versions come from major international collections and are being lent by the Louvre in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in Washington and London’s National Gallery.  Hanging alongside them, in the appropriately intimate setting of the Red Ante-Room at Waddesdon, will be works by Chardin once owned by Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour and Catherine the Great of Russia.

Chardin seems to have fascinated a number of members of the Rothschild family, who were at the forefront of the rediscovery of the French painter in the 19^th century.  Several works come from the collection of Charlotte de Rothschild (1825-1899) and were added to by her grandson Henri (1872-1947).  Many of the Rothschild Chardins were destroyed during World War II, but some did survive and will be part of the exhibition.

With eleven paintings and eleven works on paper on display, visitors will get a real insight into Chardin’s interest in learning through play, a theme taken up by the companion exhibition: Playing, Learning, Flirting: Printed Board Games from 18^th-century France, which will be shown in the Drawings Rooms at Waddesdon.  These charming, evocative, but little known objects give new insight into childhood, how play has evolved and the role of games in education and leisure.  The Game of War, the Game of Good Children, the Game of the French Revolution, the Map of the Island of Marriage and the New Noisy Game of the Street Cries of Paris are just some of the intriguing games that will be on public view for the first time.

terms and conditions

One re-tweet of the post by @NTMagazine on 19 April will be selected at random by an independent person to win a pair of tickets to see Taking Time, and the exhibition catalogue.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust and Waddesdon Manor or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.

Win ‘Octavia Hill’ by Peter Clayton

National Trust Magazine is delighted to be able to offer two lucky followers the chance to win a copy of the fascinating new book ‘Octavia Hill’ by Peter Clayton.

about Octavia Hill

Octavia Hill (1838-1912) is best known for her work as a social reformer and as co-founder of the National Trust.

In this highly illustrated guide we look at her home town – Wisbech in Cambridgeshire – where the idyllic Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House is preserved as a museum and enjoyed by visitors from all over the world. We reveal the impact a childhood move to Finchley in London had on Octavia, resulting in her championing the fight against poverty and disease, in pioneering the need for affordable housing, and her quest to bring peace and beauty into the lives of ordinary people through the provision of public open spaces.

Here too we consider other influences – including her time being trained as an artist by John Ruskin – and her many articles on social issues that appeared in influential magazines of the day, ultimately attracting such high-profile patrons as Princess Alice, Queen Victoria’s daughter.

Writer? Artist? Teacher? Reformer? Conservationist? Octavia Hill was all these things and more – truly a woman ahead of her time.

This biography is written by Peter Clayton, Chairman of Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House Trust.

Terms and Conditions

Two re-tweets of the post by @NTMagazine on 12 April will be selected at random by an independent person to win a copy of ‘Octavia Hill’.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust and Pitkin Guides or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.

Win a signed copy of ‘Kitchen Garden Estate’

National Trust Magazine is delighted to be able to offer two lucky followers the chance to win a signed copy of the beautiful new book ‘Kitchen Garden Estate’ by Helene Gammack, before its publication next week!

About ‘Kitchen Garden Estate’

This practical guide gives a fascinating glimpse over the kitchen garden wall and into the orchards, vegetable beds, fishponds, vineyards and brewhouses over the centuries.
For anyone wishing to grow their own and become more self-sufficient, there is much to learn from traditional gardening techniques, whether you have an urban allotment or a balcony.
Britain’s great estates and country house gardens offer a wealth of inspiration to the modern gardener. From traditional walled kitchen gardens and their – sometimes surprising – fruit and vegetables, to keeping bees, chickens or even livestock, tried and tested methods have been used in kitchen garden estates since medieval times and have much to teach anyone who wishes to make their own outdoor space a model of self-sufficiency.
Covering fruit and vegetables, herbs, orchards, beekeeping, fish ponds, dovecotes and poultry, dairy and the farmyard, the deer park and game, hops and vineyards, there is something for everyone, whether you have acres of land, an allotment or are simply growing herbs on your windowsill.

‘Kitchen Garden Estate’ is published on 12 april. See http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Garden-Estate-Self-sufficiency-Inspired/dp/1907892125/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333464104&sr=8-1 for information or to purchase.

Terms and Conditions

Two re-tweets of the post by @NTMagazine on 05 April will be selected at random by an independent person to win a signed copy of ‘Kitchen Garden Estate’.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.

Win an exciting day out by steam

National Trust Magazine has teamed up with The Railway Touring Company to offer one lucky twitter follower the chance to win a pair of Premier Dining tickets. Worth up to £398, this prize includes a full English breakfast and four course silver service dinner served at your seats on board (a light lunch is also provided on some trips) This prize is available on 2012 day trips (subject to availability).

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about The Railway Touring Company

A cast of sixteen magnificent steam locomotives has been recruited by heritage rail tour operator The Railway Touring Company for its 2012 programme of steam excursions, with over 90 departures scheduled from stations across the country.

The Railway Touring Company’s steam specials will tackle some of Britain’s most dramatic and challenging railway lines, including the exciting Settle and Carlisle line, perhaps the UK’s most famous route. Steam excursions through the Welsh Mountains promise to be equally as exhilarating.

For those who prefer more traditional days out to the seaside, there are weekly summer departures for The Weymouth Seaside Express from Bristol to Weymouth, The Scarborough Flyer from stations in the North West and Yorkshire and The Dorset Coast Express from London to Bournemouth and Weymouth.

The Railway Touring Company’s 2012 day destinations also include the cathedral cities of York, Lincoln, Exeter, Worcester, Durham and Canterbury.  Penzance, Hastings, Bath, Holyhead, and Blaenau Ffestiniog also feature.

To meet demand for a day of steam, sea and sand this year, The Railway Touring Company is introducing The West Somerset Steam Express from London Paddington, Slough, Reading and Newbury to Minehead during the summer, with a steam line up including King Arthur class 30777 Sir Lamiel and Pacific 70000 Britannia.

Travellers can choose between standard, first class and premier dining options on most steam trips.

For The Railway Touring Company’s full programme of UK steam day trips, steam tours and heritage rail holidays call for brochures on 01553 661500 or visit www.railwaytouring.co.uk

Terms and conditions

One correct answer to the question posted by @NTMagazine on 28 March will be selected at random by an independent person to win a pair of Premier Dining tickets courtesy of The Railway Touring Company. The Railway Touring Company’s standard conditions of booking and carriage apply.
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of The National Trust and The Railway Touring Company, their agents or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
Only one entry per household.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified by Twitter direct message within 24 hours of the closing date and time, giving them an email address to respond to. If a winner does not respond via the email address specified setting out their contact details and address within 3 days, the Promoter has the right to pick another winner from all valid entries.