Beningbrough Larch Walk
Get close to nature and listen out for the cheerful bird song or take in the stunning carpet of spring bluebells with this short woodland walk. Not too far for little ones or too arduous, get everyone together for a blast of fresh air.
Good to know
Follow the blue waymarkers. A great weekday walk with the dog or an afternoon stroll with all the family; neither too far for little ones or too arduous for the older members of the family. Restaurant and toilets available on open days - normal admission charges would apply.
Map
Start:
Beningbrough Hall car park
1
Starting with Beningbrough's visitor entrance behind you, head to the bottom right of the car park to the gate. Go through the gate and follow the path along towards the farm shop. Carry on to the left leaving the farm shop behind you, heading along the tarmac road.
2
Cross over the main exit road and continue through the gate directly in front of you. Continue along the concrete path. Enjoy Beningbrough’s open parkland out on your left hand side.
Look out for the prize winning Aberdeen Angus cattle which is farmed by the tenant farmer here on the Beningbrough estate.
3
At the end of the concrete, before reaching the picnic area, look out for a gate on the right that leads through the woods. Enter through the gate following the bark mulch pathway that will lead you through the woods. Look out for the wooden frame which captures a perfect view across the parkland onto the Hall.
Beautifully framed
Parkland has been a feature at Beningbrough for at least 750 years. The long continuity of parkland associated with Beningbrough is reflected in an unusually rich assemblage of species that are dependent on sites where there has been a long and unbroken history of open-grown trees.
4
If you want to extend your walk slightly then there’s the option here to branch off left for a circular walk around the pike ponds. The pike ponds date back to the medieval period when they were dug out, lined with clay and used to keep fish so there was a ready food supply. Alternatively keep the following the path round.
5
Carry on through the woods. At spring time the whole of this wooded area is covered in a carpet of bluebells. Follow the path until you reach the metal gate and the exit road once more. Here where the road intersects the two wooded areas, turn right and follow the road back towards the farm shop.
6
As you make your way back along the road, you’ll see a large dead tree on your left. Carry past the tree until you reach the entrance for the farm shop on your left. You have now done a full loop. Turn left back towards to the farm shop and retrace your steps to the car park.
Conservation in action
This dead tree has been deliberately left as it supports important populations of rare invertebrates (including the nationally scarce Anisoxya fuscula (false darkling beetle); and British Red Data Book digger wasp, Argogorytes fargei) as well as fungus, bats and owls. Leaving dead wood in situ like this is part of our Dead Wood Policy and forms a vital part of our crucial conservation work.
End:
Beningbrough Hall car park
