Punting at Belton

Watercolour on paper, a gentleman and a lady in a boat on water with Belton House in the background

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Brownlow family enjoyed the wilderness from the water. Evidence shows the family using the Boathouse to store punts and enjoying punting on the river. Imagine lazy summers days travelling up the river, enjoying picnics in the Wilderness garden.

The National Trust plans to reintroduce punting on the River Witham through the restoration of the Boathouse and the first phase of river restoration work. Specialist contractors will remove silt deposits, restore a lost river channel and rebuild lost revetments.

Additionally, a secondary Otter Holt, new rocky banks for white-clawed crayfish and additional bat boxes will help to improve habitat along this stretch of the Witham for some of the many protected species that can be found at Belton.

Watercolour on paper, a gentleman and a lady in a boat on water with Belton House in the background

Wilderness by the Witham 

We need your help to restore the jetty and return punting to the river so that the Wilderness can be experienced from the water once more.