Autumn walks at Brockhampton

Over one thousand acres to explore

You can visit again and again at Brockhampton and you’ll always find somewhere new to explore. The estate is rather large at 1,700 acres and includes dingles, streams and woodlands, all ever changing with the seasons. Upon arrival head inside Visitor Reception and ask about the walks; the staff and volunteers are full of helpful advice and recommendations on which walk would suit you best as well as a helpful map of the estate too.

Fascinating fungi

The bizarre sight of fungi, whether it’s a clump of small mushrooms, a large colourful toadstool or a mass hanging from an ancient tree, we are all captivated by these strange growths. There’s nothing more refreshing than heading out with loved ones on a fresh autumn day to see what unusual fungi you can spot!

A rule we live by here at Brockhampton is ‘photograph but don’t pick’ as all of our fungi plays a vital role in natural maintenance on the estate, plus many other visitors would not want to miss out on such a fascinating sight.

A survey conducted by Marches Fungi recorded twenty two different varieties of fungi at Brockhampton and stated there could indeed be more as they did not survey the whole 1,700 acres. They recorded tree fungus such as Hen of the Woods, Giant Polypore and Hairy Curtain Crust as well as soil varieties; Spangle Waxcap, Parasol and Oilslick Brittlegill to name a few.

Whilst you visit this autumn, whether it’s for a walk or to simply to wander around the manor and grounds; don’t forget to look up at the trees and down on the damp floor, you may be surprised at what you spot!

The big harvest

From September through to the end of October the estate will have produce ready for picking and harvesting. The first to ripen are the damsons in the orchard which we begin to pick in September. Visitors are welcome to pick their own for a small fee or buy ready-picked (freshly picked in the morning) from Visitor Reception. It’s quite a spectacular sight to see hundreds of mature trees in fruit in such a magical setting and within the next three years our orchards will run over an additional twenty-one acres with our Reimagining Orchards Project which began earlier this year. The apples will ripen in September and will be picked and stored for pressing on Saturday 12 October when we are joined by The Little Cider press Company. Visitors can join in by pressing apples and buying their own juice to take home and ferment into cider. Walks out into the further estate will mean visitors can see resident farmers busy at work harvesting wheat and barley in the autumn months, an age old site enjoyed by all.

Whatever makes you think of autumn whether it’s the changing leaves, ripe fruit or farmers harvesting, enjoy all the seasonal sights during your visit to Brockhampton. Every visit you make will help us continue to restore the lost Victorian orchards over the next three years.