Conservation at Killerton

Butterfly in Ashclyst Forest, 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.

 

A Daubenton's bat
Killerton   Devon

Bats at Killerton

A team of expert volunteers are making exciting discoveries about the bats that live on the Killerton estate.

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Ranger dog toby collecting apples in the orchard at killerton
Killerton   Devon

Caring for traditional orchards

Orchards are a special habitat and are managed in a traditional way to make award-winning apple juice and cider.

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Ranger chestnut veteran tree parkland killerton devon
Killerton   Devon

Bringing Killerton Park to Life

The ‘Bringing Killerton Park to Life’ project is seeing lost views revealed, habitats improved and the parkland revitalized with a range of new walks for visitors to enjoy.

How are we bringing Killerton park to life?
horse logging at killerton on the clump near exeter
Killerton   Devon

Horses help protect the hill fort

Traditional horse-logging was used to remove timber from the Clump as part of our efforts to protect the Iron Age hill fort.

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A magnificent cedar of lebanon tree in Hatfield Forest, Essex
Killerton   Devon

Making a home for Lebanese cedars

Seeds collected from the mountainous forests of Lebanon have been planted at Killerton Estate, continuing the estate’s plant hunting heritage.

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