Good friends seem to head to pastures new all too frequently; the upside is arranging reunions in interesting places! Thus three far-flung families spent a relaxed cultural day at the Henry Moore Foundation, housed where the eminent artist lived and worked for his last 45 years, in the cute hamlet of Perry Green.

You get a shoes-free tour of former farmhouse, Hoglands, restored to almost exactly how it was. There are 1950s wingback chairs, 1960s crockery, books crammed into shelves, a Picasso sketch in the kitchen, original curtains designed by Moore and wonderful organic tactile objects such as fossils and driftwood. While grown-ups went into raptures at vintage telephones, the kids were unimpressed by small cluttered rooms (Moore channelled his wealth into his eponymous Foundation to encourage the visual arts rather than upgrade his living quarters).

The big draw is the fabulous sculpture park, a just reward for fidgety children to scamper around. Pillowy bronze forms are everywhere; other artists’ works chosen to accompany Moore’s vision are also displayed in seasonal exhibitions.

The smallest boy chased lambs around Moore’s aptly titled Sheep Piece in the adjacent field. Older kids were fascinated in the Damien Hirst cleaved cow in the smart zinc-clad gallery-cum-barn. For me the original studios filled with plaster maquettes were the most interesting. Over lunch in the adjacent pub we vowed to return.

Images courtesy of Roy Hammans and Mark Bridge on Flickr