Explore Charlecote's parkland

Paddock and river at Charlecote on a sunny frosty day in winter

Charlecote’s tranquil parkland is the perfect place to picnic, play or wander all year round. The mown grassy paths are flat enough for wide-wheeled buggies and we'd recommend wellies or sturdy boots.

Bring your binoculars

Our riverside setting is a wildlife haven. It’s an ideal spot for birdwatching with one of the largest heronries in Warwickshire, and many different water birds including winter migrants like white egrets. We've seen kingfishers on the Dene and the lake - will you be lucky today?

You can get away from the weather on a grotty day by spending time in the hide in the spinney behind the stables and see what turns up at the feeders.

Family on winter walk in parkland at Charlecote Park

Enjoy a winter walk in Charlecote's parkland

Get away from the central heating for a while with a stroll through the parkland.

Download our winter walk map

A time to relax

Find picnic benches by the river and choose your favourite spot. Visitors picnic here twelve months of the year - just wrap up warm! If you’re looking for peace and quiet, we’re always less busy out of school holidays.

Look out for herons swooping in to the bare treetops
Heron swoops in to tops of bare trees in parkland at Charlecote

Find out about the free park walks led by our volunteers on your way in and discover more about how we manage this ancient landscape and our Capability Brown connections.

Charlecote’s historic fallow deer herd

There has been a fallow deer herd at Charlecote for centuries, and legend has it that a young William Shakespeare was prosecuted for poaching here. We manage the herd to the highest possible welfare standards and our venison has won Fine Farm Food awards.

Tread quietly and leave your dog at home and you'll often be able to get quite close. Please don't ever approach the deer to touch them. They are wild animals and even our Ranger doesn't handle them.

Charlecote has had a fallow deer herd for centuries and you'll often be able to get quite close
Fallow deer on frosty day in winter near Charlecote Park house

Centuries of tradition

Have you noticed the traditional cleft oak paling fencing? This is a rural craft that we're delighted to be able to keep alive. The varied heights of the panels confuse the deer so that they don't jump over the fence, although they easily could.

Spotting the spotty sheep

The fallow deer happily share the parkland with our pedigree herd of Jacob sheep with their characteristic chocolate-blotch fleeces.

Did you know that George Lucy introduced the very first flock of Jacobs to England from Portugal in 1755?

The fallow deer usually get top billing, but our Jacob sheep have their own story to tell too
Jacob sheep at Charlecote on frosty day in winter parkland

Caring for the environment

As part of the Higher Level Stewardship scheme we manage the parkland to ensure the widest possible environmental benefits.

We look after our ancient trees in the park and manage our rare fruit varieties in the orchard, grafting some of the trees to ensure their continuity and planting new rare varieties too.

Vital conservation work on our trees has been funded by raffle ticket sales
Lime avenue trees at Charlecote Park on frosty day in winter

We manage the grassland and rivers for the benefit of the insects, invertebrates, mammals, birds, and plants that co-exist here.

We close to visitors when the rivers flood (usually in spring, but it can be any time of year) and we don't know where the riverbanks or the edges of the lake are. Click or tap here to discover the quiet beauty of the flooded parkland as seen by our volunteer photographer.