Things to do in the Holidays: Visit to Valentines Mansion

The lovely Valentines Mansion has recently been restored and refurbished, so I decided to pay it a visit with the kids (kids...antiques...precious items...good idea?...).

On arriving, we found this piece of art in the garden - silk moths with raw, unprocessed silk. There were a couple of art works in the garden, but we didn't end up seeing them all, so will have to go back again just for the gardens.




The building was built in 1696 and was listed as an at-risk heritage building, but looking around it's been beautifully restored and is a pleasure to wander through with lots of features and details to take in.

I have always wanted a window seat like this, to curl up and read in. Imagine the view across the gardens and park early in the morning.

There were signs everywhere asking people not to touch the precious objects, so what do I turn round to find? Gorgeous jumping on the four-poster bed!! The boy nearly gave me a heart-attack.

Funky wallpaper:

It was nice that there were things that the children could do and touch:

I couldn't believe how big the kitchens were, there must have been four or five rooms including the kitchen, pantry, store, dairy room etc, although I have to say, I reckon my mum would still be able to fill all the rooms up with her years supply of rice, bags of flour and giant cooking pots.

I really enjoyed my visit and really appreciated how accessible the people who have worked on the Mansion have made it for families. I especially love that the restoration hasn't just been about creating somewhere to gawk at like a museum, but a venue for regular events and activities. I will definitely be bringing my kids back here again on days we have nothing else planned - but maybe avoid the bedroom!