Exploring the parkland at Hatchlands

Visitors walking on the path through bluebell woodland at Hatchlands Park, Surrey. — Visitors walking on the designated path through bluebell woodland at Hatchlands Park, Surrey | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

Spanning 422 acres and open 363 days a year, the parkland at Hatchlands is a wonderful spot to enjoy the great outdoors. Discover wonderful walks, a natural play area for the kids, and say hello to the resident donkeys, or just stop by and enjoy a breath of fresh air.

Walking at Hatchlands

Get your boots on, gather up the family and the dog, and head to Hatchlands for wonderful walking. You can pick up a map from reception and head off on one of the waymarked walks. Take in the whole park on a ramble round the Long Walk, enjoy a circular route passing the children’s play area on the Wix Wood Walk or stick to a short stroll on hard paths with Fanny Boscawen's Walk.

Spring highlights at Hatchlands

After a long winter what could be better than embracing the changing seasons with a blissful walk outdoors. You’ll find spectacular spring colour all over the garden, parkland and woodland. Discover daffodils in the garden, blossom in the hedgerows, cowslips in the wildflower meadow and one of the very best bluebell woods around.

Daffodils

Once you’re through the garden, head out into the park. Small, delicate, bright green leaves are newly visible on the parkland oak trees and flowering blackthorn blossom lines many of our woodland hedgerows. There’s also wildlife to see with new-born calves charging around in the fields and many of our wildfowl returning from a winter spent in warmer climes.

Bluebells

Tucked away at the eastern edge of our park you’ll find Little Wix Wood and one of the finest bluebell woods in the area. This small, quiet patch of ancient semi-natural woodland was first recorded in the Chertsey Chronicles during the 13th century and features sweet chestnut, ash, oak, birch and hornbeam.
During April and May the woodland erupts into a riot of colour, a sea of bluebells can be seen stretching from one end of the wood to the other. These delicate native English bluebells won’t flower in the average garden, but here they create a violet carpet along the woodland floor and a sweet scent fills the air.

Find out how we care for our bluebells, and what you can do to help us protect this much-loved flower.

In the meadow

Late in the season the wildflower meadow begins to return to life too. The first flushes of colour usually arrive in the form of cowslips. Just as the bluebell wood is going over you should be able to wander round the corner and find a carpet of yellow instead.

Visitors walking in bluebell woodland at Hatchlands Park, Surrey — Visitors walking in bluebell woodland at Hatchlands Park | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

Visiting Hatchlands in wet weather

You can always access the cafés and courtyard via hard-surfaced paths, but if you’re planning on exploring a little further, it’s likely that you’ll encounter some mud. Please remember to dress for the weather, with wellies or walking boots strongly recommended, even if you’re not planning on walking very far.

If you're planning to push a buggy through the park you may want to consider your route; just ask the reception team for the best paths to take.

Children’s natural adventure play area

Head into Great Wix Wood to discover Wizard Wix's Willow Warren. Get to grips with hand-crafted willow tunnels, domes, balance beams, sculptures and a totem pole. There are even wood piles for den building and picnic benches for tired parents.

Picnic spots

You’ll find great picnic options all over the park. Throw a rug down on the lawn in front of the house or head further afield to one of the many picnic spots. Picnic areas are cow-free zones, so you can enjoy your food in peace. Pick up a map on arrival and look for the areas marked with a picnic table.

Donkeys at Hatchlands

Hatchlands is home to two fostered donkeys, Callum and Morris. Here they have a happy and safe home where they can spend their days roaming the fields and their nights tucked up in the stable. Morris is the more outgoing of the pair, but Callum is blessed with very attractive stripy legs.

You’re welcome to stroke their noses or provide a tickle behind the ears, but we would ask that you never feed them by hand. This encourages them to expect food from everyone and fingers can look deceptively like carrots to a donkey.

Two children standing on a fence watching resident donkeys, Callum and Morris, in their pen at Hatchlands Park, Surrey — Watching resident donkeys, Callum and Morris, at Hatchlands Park, Surrey | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

The temple and ice house

Discover two of Hatchlands’ best kept secrets. A short distance off the beaten track on your left heading towards visitor reception, you’ll find a classical stone temple installed by Hatchlands' last private owner, Hal Goodhart-Rendel, in memory of his mother Rose Ellen Cooper. Look out for the inscription that reads, ‘Placed here as a memory of Rose Ellen Cooper who long lived at and loved Hatchlands’.

As you leave the garden, passing the London plane tree, and proceeding along Fanny Boscawen’s Walk you'll notice the ice house on your left. It was built in the late 1750s by the Boscawen family, at about the same time as the house.

The ice house is surrounded by box hedging and sits on the edge of the dell. It has a shaft with straight sides and is cut into chalk which allows the water to filter through it. The walls are extremely thick for the purposes of insulation but the concrete base you see today was put in during restoration work in 1983.

Accessibility options

Should you need some assistance to access the countryside trails, you could try using a Tramper or an MT Push vehicle.

Tramper

A Tramper is a single-seater, all-terrain, off-road Personal Mobility Vehicle (PMV). It operates in a very similar way to a normal PMV but features slightly chunkier wheels to cope with more testing terrain. If you’re comfortable with a normal PMV then you’ll find the Tramper just as user-friendly.

MT Push

MT Push is a buddy wheelchair, with the ability to push over a wide variety of terrain. An adjustable push handle, located behind the user, provides the steering and braking for use by the rider’s buddy. Developed and evolved following discussions with the National Trust, Hatchlands is one of a growing number of sites that provide these all-terrain wheelchairs for visitor use.

Availability for both vehicles is limited and so booking is essential. To book a morning (10.30am) or afternoon (1.30pm) session, or for more information about accessibility at Hatchlands, you can email us or call 01483 222482.