Gruffalo trail Knole Park: ends 1 Nov, £15 for a family

Twelve giant Gruffalo sculptures are standing in the parkland at Knole until Sunday 1 November, and the question almost everyone asks first has a slightly awkward answer. Knole Park is free to walk into on foot. The Gruffalo trail is not.

The National Trust calls it a free event, then adds “admission applies”, and that is the sentence people miss. The sculptures sit on ground you can normally cross for nothing, but to follow the trail you need an admission ticket, the cheapest of which is £6 an adult, and the trail also runs into the Orangery, which is indoors. Book nothing and walk up the hill from town and you will be turned back at the Gatebox.

This page sets out what the trail actually costs a family, what is left of the run, the Thursday mornings when the October half term dates come up for booking, why the usual Sevenoaks advice about parking in town is the wrong call for this particular trip, and the names of all twelve sculptures. The dates, times and booking rules were re-read on the National Trust’s own event page on 23 September 2026.

The Gruffalo trail at Knole: the facts

What it costs a family

The trail is included with normal admission, so the price you pay is simply Knole’s cheapest ticket, the Outdoor and Tower. It also covers the Gatehouse Tower and the car park, and it does not get you into the showrooms.

Two adults and two school-age children pay £15 on the family ticket against £18 bought singly, so ask for the family rate even for a party of four. A parent on their own with three children pays £9. A toddler who is still under five costs nothing, which makes this an unusually cheap outing for pre-schoolers: one adult and two under-fives is £6 for the whole group.

The upgrade to the Showrooms, Outdoor and Tower ticket is £19 an adult, £9.50 a child and £47.50 a family. It buys the house, not the trail, and the showrooms only open 11:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:30, so it is worth taking only if you plan to spend a full day. The Venetian Bedroom is closed for maintenance at the moment.

What is left of the run, and when half term opens for booking

The free day has gone. Knole marked Heritage Open Day on Tuesday 15 September, the one day in this run when admission and the car park cost nothing for everyone, and it has passed. From here to the end, the trail costs the price of an Outdoor and Tower ticket, every single day.

The National Trust’s event calendar lists every remaining date at 10:00 to 17:00 with no closed days: 40 of them on Wednesday 23 September, finishing on Sunday 1 November.

That last Sunday is the catch for Kent families. Kent schools break up after Friday 23 October, half term runs Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, and children go back on Monday 2 November (Kent County Council). The trail’s final day is the Sunday of the going-back weekend, so half term is not an early look at the sculptures. It is the end of the run, and every family in the district has the same nine days to use.

Booking matters more in those nine days than at any other point in the trail. Pre-booking admission is essential to guarantee entry and compulsory at weekends and in the school holidays, National Trust members and free pass holders included: they book a free ticket each and show their cards on arrival. Non-members are charged per person at the Gatebox. Tickets are released every Thursday to cover the next 28 days, and can be booked up to an hour before you arrive (National Trust).

Run that release rule forward and the half term dates arrive in two batches, a fortnight apart.

The Thursday release and the 28-day window are the Trust’s rule; the dates in that table are arithmetic from it, so treat them as the morning to try rather than a promise. The practical reading is simple enough. Nothing in half term can be booked before Thursday 1 October, the final weekend cannot be booked before Thursday 8 October, and those are the two Thursdays worth a diary note if you want a Saturday slot rather than whatever is left on a wet Tuesday.

One more half term date sits inside the run: the Gruffalo film screening on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, which is a separate ticket on top of admission and is covered further down.

Do not park in town for this one

Our Knole Park guide tells you to leave the car in Sevenoaks and walk in free, and for an ordinary deer-and-views walk that is still the right answer. For the Gruffalo trail it is the wrong one, and it costs you money.

The reason is that Knole’s car park has no parking-only ticket. It is for admission ticket holders, and admission is charged per person in the vehicle. So if you are paying admission anyway, which you must be to do the trail, the parking comes with it at no extra cost. Park in town instead and you pay admission and a tariff.

Suffolk Way, the nearest town car park, is £5.30 for four hours, and four hours is its maximum stay with no return within two. So a family of four driving in and pre-booking pays £15. The same family parking at Suffolk Way and walking up pays £20.30, gets a four-hour clock running from the moment they park, and still has a 20 to 30 minute uphill walk each way through Webb’s Alley before the trail even starts. Charges at Suffolk Way run Monday to Sunday, 8.30am to 8.30pm, and it is free on public and bank holidays.

The exception is a sold-out day. Tickets go live each Thursday covering the next 28 days, and the half term weekends will go. If there is nothing left, the town car parks are the fallback rather than the plan. Our parking in Sevenoaks page has the full tariff list.

The twelve sculptures

Wild in Art has named all twelve. They are:

• The Classic Gruffalo
• Fall Again
• Toadstooly Gruffalo
• All Was Quiet in the Deep Dark Woods
• How Does your Garden Grow?
• Tip Toe with the Gruffalo
• The Gruffalo’s Great Big Bug Hunt
• A Mouse Took a Stroll
• Drawn to Adventure
• Treetop House
• Autumnal Crunch
• Where’s Gruffalo?

Eleven of them are out in the parkland and one part of the trail is inside the Orangery, which is the detail that matters if you are bringing a dog.

Buggies, wheelchairs and dogs

Most of the trail is on open parkland, and the National Trust is blunt about what that means: there are some hard-standing paths, but the rest of the park is rough, undulating ground that gets muddy in wet weather. Its own event listing says the trail “includes uneven surfaces” and asks anyone with access requirements to ring Knole on 01732 462100 before travelling.

For pushchairs there is one specific piece of advice worth having. Of Knole’s signposted colour-coded park routes, the National Trust says the red walk is the one best suited to visitors with sturdy pushchairs. The routes run 4 to 5km and take 50 to 75 minutes, and they are described as mainly across rough, undulating ground and not suited to those with mobility issues. There are a few hard-standing routes in the park, but many of them cross the golf course.

Around the buildings the picture is better. There is step-free access to the Visitor Centre, the Brewhouse Café and the toilets, lifts in the bookshop, gift shop and Conservation Studio building, and a lift up to the Orangery. Baby changing is in Green Court and in the Conservation Studio building near the café. There is an enclosed picnic area by the car park, and lockers for large bags at the Visitor Centre. Pushchairs and buggies are not allowed in the showrooms or the Gatehouse Tower, so that upgrade is awkward with a baby in tow.

Dogs are welcome in the parkland and the outdoor courtyards, on a lead at all times, but not in any indoor space, and that includes the Orangery. One stretch of the trail is therefore a dog problem: somebody waits outside with the lead while everyone else goes in. Assistance dogs are welcome throughout.

The rut runs through the same ground

Knole’s fallow deer rut in autumn, which is exactly when this trail is up. Bucks holding their stands do not want people near them, and the National Trust asks visitors to keep well back. The trail takes families across the same parkland at the same time of year, so it is worth telling children beforehand rather than in the moment: watch from a distance, never feed or touch a deer, and if one walks towards you, ignore it and move away.

If the deer are the real draw, Knole Estate’s Park and Deer Keeper runs guided Deer Keeping: Autumn Rut sessions on the evenings of Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October, 17:30 to 19:30.

What else is on at Knole while the trail is up

• The Gruffalo Film Screening and playtime, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, 10:30 to 11:45 in the Hayloft in the Conservation Studio. A family screening of the film with colouring and toys, and a drink and a biscuit for each person. £7.50 per person, free for children under three, and normal admission applies on top: a family of four is £30 for the screening plus £15 to get in. Booking essential, and there is a lift to the Hayloft.
• Toddler Mondays, 28 September to 19 October, 10:00 to 12:00: babyccino coffee mornings and storytime in the bookshop for under-fives. Four Mondays left.
• Knole Fawns baby and toddler group, Friday 25 September, 10:30 to 12:00. The Trust lists no later date.
• Attic tours, to 28 November, 11:30 to 12:15, £7.50 a head and booking essential.
• Lord Sackville’s private garden open days, to Thursday 16 October, 11:00 to 16:00: 26 acres of private garden and views of the house.
• Volunteer coffee mornings, 23 September to 28 November, 10:30 to 12:00, for anyone thinking of helping at Knole.

The trail is still up through the Kent school holiday, so it also sits on our October half term in Sevenoaks and Halloween events near Sevenoaks round-ups. More family ideas nearby are in our roundup of things to do with kids in Sevenoaks, and the seasonal fields are covered in pumpkin picking near Sevenoaks.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Gruffalo trail at Knole free? Not in practice. The National Trust lists it as a free event with the words “admission applies”, which means the trail adds nothing to the ticket price but you must hold an admission ticket to be on the trail. The minimum is an Outdoor and Tower ticket, £6 an adult and £3 a child of 5 to 17.

Do National Trust members pay for the Gruffalo trail? No, members and free pass holders get in free, but they still have to book a ticket per person, and at weekends and in school holidays that booking is compulsory.

When does the Gruffalo trail at Knole finish? Sunday 1 November 2026. It has run every day since Saturday 29 August, 10:00 to 17:00, with no closed days in between.

Can I walk up from Sevenoaks town and do the trail without paying? No. Walking into the parkland on foot is free at any time, but the trail requires an admission ticket and non-members are charged per person at the Gatebox.

Is the Gruffalo trail at Knole suitable for a pushchair? Partly. The National Trust describes the trail as being in the parkland and including uneven surfaces, and says the red colour-coded route is the one best suited to sturdy pushchairs. Buggies are fine outdoors and in the Orangery but not in the showrooms or the Gatehouse Tower.

How long does the Gruffalo trail take? The National Trust does not publish a time for the trail itself. Knole’s signposted park routes, which cover similar ground, are 4 to 5km and take 50 to 75 minutes, so allow around two hours with children, stops and the Orangery.

Can I take a dog on the Gruffalo trail? On most of it, on a lead. The Orangery is an indoor space and dogs other than assistance dogs are not allowed inside, so one part of the trail means waiting outside.

Is there a free day for the Gruffalo trail at Knole? Not any more. Tuesday 15 September was Knole’s Heritage Open Day, when admission and the car park were free to everyone, and it was the only such day in this run. Every day from now to Sunday 1 November needs a paid admission ticket unless you are a National Trust member.

When can I book Knole for October half term? The Trust releases tickets every Thursday to cover the next 28 days, so on that rule Thursday 1 October is the first morning the half term dates of 24 to 29 October can be booked, and Thursday 8 October is the first morning you can book Friday 30 October, Halloween or the trail’s last day on Sunday 1 November.

Sources

• Trail dates, daily times, ticket requirement, accessibility wording and contact numbers: National Trust, The Gruffalo Art Adventure at Knole
• Admission prices, opening times, Thursday ticket release, car park rule and the Venetian Bedroom closure: National Trust, Knole
• The Thursday ticket release, the 28-day window and the hour-before cut-off: National Trust, booking your visit to Knole
• Kent term dates and the half term week: Kent County Council, school term dates
• Film screening dates, prices and the Hayloft lift: National Trust, The Gruffalo Film Screening and playtime
• The other events running during the trail: National Trust, upcoming events at Knole
• Pushchair advice, the red route, baby changing, lockers, picnic area and dog rules: National Trust, family things to do at Knole
• Deer behaviour during the rut: National Trust, explore the park at Knole
• The names of all twelve sculptures, the partners and the 2023 Snowman trail: Wild in Art, The Gruffalo Art Adventure at Knole
• Suffolk Way tariff, maximum stay and bank holiday rule: Sevenoaks District Council

The remaining trail dates, the daily times, the booking-essential rule and the other events at Knole were re-read on the National Trust’s own event page on 23 September 2026, which listed 40 dates left. The admission prices and the Thursday ticket release were last checked on 16 September 2026, the Suffolk Way tariff against Sevenoaks District Council’s car park record on 3 September 2026. Weekend and half term tickets sell out, so book before you travel.