We felt really honoured when Emma Smith from Killerton House invited Hikmat families to a funded day out as part of their Summer of Play. We warned her it could be a big trip — and it definitely was! 42 families, 130 people, from 10 different ethnic backgrounds joined us for a fantastic day of circus skills, exploring the house, seeing the cows and enjoying time together.
We were shocked to discover that 83% of the families had never heard of Killerton, despite living in Exeter and Devon. For Mohammad, seeing the cows reminded him of his home in Afghanistan, where his family had a lovely cow that gave them milk every day. The bus made the trip easy and accessible and was also a big part of the fun, especially for the children.
The day was about much more than just a visit, it was a chance for families to experience somewhere new and hopefully feel confident coming back again. The free passes for adults and Pokémon postcards for the children were a lovely touch, and our North Devon group are already planning their next National Trust visit to Arlington House.
