A Day at Gilbert White’s House
Disclosure: We were invited on this day out for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.
At the start of the summer we had a lovely day out at Gilbert White’s House, somewhere we had only visited previously for the festive evening event, White’s Eco Light Festival. We were looking forward to seeing Gilbert White’s House in daylight!
What is Gilbert White’s House?
Gilbert White’s House is the home of the 18th Century naturalist Gilbert White. The site includes 25 acres of gardens along with the beautiful historic house making it a great place for a day out and somewhere different to explore.
Where is Gilbert White’s House?
Gilbert White’s House is in the heart of Selborne in Hampshire, a gorgeous village in a beautiful area, surrounded by countryside. The car park is well signposted from the village, directing visitors to drive through a pub car park and out the other side, to the Gilbert White’s House car park. From there the entrance is marked with a lovely archway and a nice little walk to the house.
Exploring Gilbert White’s House
Any trip to Gilbert White’s House starts with the visitor centre reception, where you can buy tickets and explore the shop – something we always save until the end of a day out! The staff are lovely and friendly, pointing you in the direction of the main exhibits and gardens.
We started off exploring the house, before moving on to the gardens. The house introduces you to Gilbert White, naturalist and author of The Natural History of Selborne, a book that has remained in print for over 200 years!
White was the first person to identify the Harvest Mouse, Noctule Bat and Chiff Chaff as separate species and he outlined the first principles of ecology, realising that all nature was connected – from the earthworm, to humankind, to the soil and to the birds in the sky.
Gilbert White’s House teaches you about Gilbert White and his discoveries in a really hands on and engaging way, with plenty to keep children entertained – with dressing up, drawing and loads of interactive exhibits.
The house is also home to The Oates Collection on its upper floors, commemorating the Oates family, mainly Frank Oates and Lawrence Oates, two remarkable explorers of the natural world.
Captain Lawrence Oates was chosen to be part of Captain Robert Scott’s team to undertake the epic journey of discovery to the South Pole 1911-12. Ultimately, Oates sacrificed his life in the hope of saving his comrades. His body has never been found.
The galleries tell the story of Oates’s early life and his distinguished service in the Boer War as well as the story of the Scott Expedition.
Lawrence’s uncle, Frank Oates, was fascinated by natural history from an early age and in 1871 he visited the Americas to improve his health. On display in the Frank Oates Gallery is a display of Central American birds collected from his travels there.
It also details his fateful journey to Africa which begun in 1873, with displays of various artefacts and specimens he collected during his trek from Durban, through Natal, Transvaal and finally to Matebeleland and the Victoria Falls. However, he sadly died on the return journey in 1875.
During this trip he recorded and collected previously unknown species of trees and wildlife. These various species have been given the scientific name oatesii in Frank Oates’ honour.
The galleries, and house are fascinating. With such a varied and interesting collection of artefacts and exhibits. The children and I really enjoyed exploring the house and each of the different rooms and collections.
The Gilbert White’s House gardens
After exploring the house we went back through reception and around the side of the house to enter the gardens. As much as we enjoyed the museum, the gardens were our favourite part of Gilbert White’s House – they just went on and on with so much to epxlore!
As you’ll find during most school holidays, Gilbert White’s House had a trail for us to follow when we visited. It was themed around Alice in Wonderland but taught us about the real animals that the cartoon characters were based on.
The trail took us across lawns and through formal gardens, through secret gardens and across parkland. The gardens at Gilbert White’s House are a real mix of different areas, all giving wildlife a diverse range of habitats and ensuring there is something to look at no matter what time of year you visit.
We took a picnic with us and easily found a bench to sit on to enjoy it, whilst watching bees bumble along and ladybirds climb over plants. The children loved watching the wildlife and it was such a peaceful place to spend time.
Special events at Gilbert White’s House
The Alice in Wonderland trail really helped us explore more of Gilbert White’s House and Gardens whilst keeping the children engaged. Gilbert White’s House have special events like this throughout the year as well as their fantastic Eco Light Festival at Christmas. So there is always something different to see and do at Gilbert White’s House.
We had such a lovely day at Gilbert White’s House and know it won’t be long before we are visiting again. You can find out more about Gilbert White’s House over on their website and for reference the address is: The Wakes, High Street, Selborne, Alton GU34 3JH
I also made a little Reel of our trip over on Instagram here:
