English Heritage to bring ‘bonding benches’ to castles to tackle parental isolation

“Bonding benches” are being introduced to English Heritage properties to help parents who take their children on historic day trips meet fellow family adventurers.

In an effort to tackle the growing issue of parental isolation, “bonding benches” will be introduced to all the charity’s castles and historic houses to help new parents develop their support networks by starting conversations with fellow visitors.

The “bonding benches” will be installed across the historic sites ahead of the half-term holidays, located in areas where families tend to gravitate, such as playgrounds or open grassland. The benches will feature sliders which can be moved between ‘up for a chat’ and ‘craving quiet’, depending on your mood.

open image in gallery

It follows recent research from the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) that shows 62 per cent of new parents feel lonely or isolated at least some of the time, while 87 per cent feel overwhelmed. The report released last month also found that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of new parents said they did not have a strong support network around them.

Families make up around 35 per cent of all visits to English Heritage’s more than 400 sites, which include medieval castles, Roman forts and even a Cold War bunker, so the charity felt well placed to try and bring like-minded parents together. With the new initiative, their hope is to help families take the first step to starting up conversations with people and making connections while their children play.

open image in gallery

Emma Fernandes Lopes, assistant operations director at English Heritage, said: “As parents, we are hardwired to prioritise our children’s wellbeing. We bring them out to wonderful places like English Heritage sites to explore the outdoors and expand their horizons. But we often forget that the key to children’s wellbeing is actually found in whether their parents feel happy and supported.

“Modern parenthood can be a really isolating experience. Many parents live a long way away from their extended families and have no support network to lean back on, and it’s often a real challenge to make friends who hold the same values and interests. With families making up more than a third of all English Heritage visits, we want to use our sites to help parents make those essential connections.”

open image in gallery

The charity will also host communal activities for young families and NCT volunteer-led sling and buggy walks at selected sites. These free, volunteer-led walks hope to enable new, pre-school and expectant parents to meet up in the fresh air and share experiences. They will be held at Audley End in Essex, Kenwood in North London, Marble Hill in South West London, Wrest Park in Bedfordshire and Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire.

More volunteers are being sought to lead walks at other English Heritage sites.