Conservation at Killerton

Killerton's countryside is teeming with life. With parkland, woods, farmland, orchards, gardens and more on the estate, there is a wide range of habitats supporting all sorts of wildlife, including birds of prey, roe deer, early purple orchid, native bluebells and thirty species of butterflies.
As one of the National Trust's largest working estates, we look after a lot of natural habitats. We strive to maintain our woodlands, orchards, farmland and countryside as an environment that supports a rich diversity of wildlife. There are large areas of woodland and forest on the estate including Ashclyst forest, which is a great place to explore on foot, by bike, or on horseback, and is home to many species of butterfly.
Parkland and woods
The National Trust has been working on a conservation project to restore historic parkland at the Killerton Estate in Devon. Starting in 2014, the £439,000 ‘Bringing Killerton Park to Life’ project has seen lost views revealed, habitats improved and the parkland revitalized with a range of new walking routes for visitors to enjoy.
A specific habitat called wood pasture is an important feature of the designed parkland at Killerton and this is being restored under the project.
Veteran Trees
We look after a number of very important and old trees in the parkland. Some of the trees were brought from as far away as Chile and China, and Killerton was one of the first aboretums in England. The Tree Walk will introduce some of these veteran trees to you.