Wiltshire

Bonham Wood walk at Stourhead

The domed, white Temple of Apollo surrounded by trees overlooking the lake at Stourhead — Temple of Apollo at Stourhead | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

Explore Bonham Wood at Stourhead on this short, circular walk which takes you behind the Temple of Apollo and through picturesque woodland, returning along the disused airfield that formed part of RAF Zeals during the Second World War. Look out for wild daffodils and bluebells throughout the woodland during spring.

Near to

Stourhead

Start point

Stourhead visitor reception, grid ref: ST778340

Address
Stourhead visitor reception. BA12 6QD
Directions via Google Maps
By train
Gillingham station 6.5 miles (10.4km); Bruton station 7 miles (11.2km).
By bus
Frome Minibuses 82 Warminster to Mere; First 58/158 Shaftesbury to Wincanton (passing Gillingham train station), alight Zeals, 1¼ mile (400m).
Cycling
Wiltshire Cycle Way runs through the estate.
By road
At Stourton, off B3092, 3 miles (5km) north-west of Mere (A303), 8 miles (13km) south of Frome (A361).
Total stages: 4
Total stages: 4
Start point
Stourhead visitor reception, grid ref: ST778340
Stage 1
From the main car park, go through visitor reception. Take the zig-zag path toward the walled garden. Where the path splits into four, take a sharp left on to a grass track. Follow this track with the field and St Peter’s Church on your right.
Stage 2
Continue on the track through the woodland. Go past a green barrier and turn left where the track forks uphill and then turn right once you’ve reached the top. The Temple of Apollo and views of the garden can be seen to the right. Keep straight on this track, dropping down into the woodland, past another green barrier, leaving the garden behind and to your right. Continue on the main track through Bonham Wood for about ½ a mile.
Hazel dormice at Stourhead
This woodland is home to the hazel dormouse, which is honey coloured, has a furry tail and is native to Britain. Active at night, the dormice spend their days in the hedgerows and tree canopies and hibernate during the winter months. Dormice are vulnerable to woodland and hedgerow management operations and numbers have declined by half over the last hundred years. The National Trust team manage Stourhead woodland in such a way as to encourage dormice and still enable sustainable timber production. The hazel dormouse is strictly protected by UK and European law. A license is needed to check nesting boxes and handle them. If you come across a box, please do not open it.
Stage 3
Follow the track around to the left as it ascends to join the road. Being mindful of traffic, turn left and walk along the road. You will see Bonham manor and cottages on your left, along with Bonham Garden of Remembrance – established to commemorate those members of the community whose gravestones had been moved when the manor gardens were re-laid. Continue for another 300 yards, then turn left and onto the disused airfield which once formed part of RAF Zeals in the Second World War.
WWII history
During the Second World War, Henry Hoare allowed an airfield to be built on the estate. The site began as a Royal Air Force base for Hurricanes and Spitfires in 1942. It was taken over by the U.S Army Air Force a year later, and returned to the RAF in 1944. Following D-Day the airfield was used for glider training in preparation for attacks against Japan. In 1945 the Royal Navy commissioned the airfield for aircraft carrier training. At the start of 1946 the airfield was closed down and returned to farmland that summer.
Stage 4
Walk along the airfield for approximately ½ a mile. About 100 yards before the airfield reaches the road, turn left onto a hard surfaced path. Follow this until you reach a T-junction, turn left and after about 100 yards turn right, back into the main visitor car park.
End point
Stourhead visitor reception, grid ref: ST778340
Trail map
Bonham Wood map | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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A flowering rhododendron with the Pantheon overlooking the lake in the background at Stourhead, Wiltshire

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near Mere, Wiltshire, BA12 6QD

01747841152

stourhead@nationaltrust.org.uk

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