Lanhydrock Great Wood & Avenue Walk
This gentle walk is a great introduction to the mature, mixed woodland and historic parkland of the Lanhydrock estate.
A beautiful estate with ancient woodlands and tranquil riverside paths
Explore part of the 900 acres (364ha) of land surround Lanhydrock House and discover parkland full of traditional grassland flowers, bluebell woods, ancient trees, amazing fungi, wildlife and a magnificent beech-lined avenue.
Map
Start:
Lanhydrock main visitor reception, grid ref: SX088636
1
Leave the main car park and follow the signs for Lanhydrock House. Cross the road and enter the parkland via the octagonal reception building.
2
Follow the path down the hill towards Lanhydrock House. Continue past the 17th century gatehouse. The parkland that surrounds you is managed for nature conservation helping to increase wildlife and species diversity.
Gatehouse
The gatehouse was built in 1651 as a hunting lodge. It was constructed in two different architectural styles; Italian Renaissance facing the parkland and traditional Gothic facing the house. The gatehouse has been used as a porter's lodge, a folly, a Sunday school and a Catholic chapel for WW2 evacuees.
3
Go through the wide, unpainted gate next to the cattle grid, and turn left. This path along the edge of Great Wood is known as Lady's Walk. To the left of Lady's Walk you can see the 1823 ha-ha, a vertical wall alongside a stream. The ha-ha prevented the grazing stock from getting into the woodland, without interrupting the view from the house.
Woodland bluebells
Since the clearance of the invasive rhododendron ponticum from Great Wood, fantastic displays of bluebells can be seen here in the spring. Lanhydrock is also home to kingfishers, dormice and 12 species of bat.
4
Follow Lady's Walk down the edge of Great Wood until you reach a red gate onto Newton Lane. Turn left here and continue past the privately-owned cottages.
Trees
Great Wood lives up to its name, with a mix of beech, oak, sycamore, ash, sweet chestnut, holly and a number of Scots Pine. Also, look out for the amazing fungi for which these trees provide a home.
5
Turn left through the gates by Newton Lodge onto Beech Avenue. This impressive gateway, marked with the initials of John and Lucy Robartes, is dated 1657.
The Avenue
The magnificent beech trees that line Beech Avenue are host to an array of invertebrates, fungi, lichen and other wildlife. Beech Avenue was originally planted circa 1657, with just a single row of sycamores which have been replaced with the magnificent beeches you see today.
6
At the top of Beech Avenue, turn right and follow the drive back up through the parkland to the main car park.
End:
Lanhydrock main visitor reception, grid ref: SX088636