The estate at Greys Court

Children exploring the estate walk at Greys Court, Oxfordshire — Children exploring the estate walk at Greys Court | © National Trust Images/Alex Prain

Set in the rolling hills of the Chilterns, the 280-acre estate grounds are full of wooded parkland, an arboretum and rambling walks ready for you to explore. Discover the eye-catching red frame of the Moon Bridge crossing the ha-ha on the estate.

Walking at Greys Court

A short stroll

If you are looking for a light walk through the estate, you can take Sir Felix’s Gentle Path, a short, 30-minute route through the parkland and beech woods, and admire the landscape and beauty of the surrounding countryside.

Depending on the time of year, make sure to bring your wellies as it can get quite muddy. Start the walk at the top lawn. It will take you over the Moon Bridge and past the 19th-century ice house, which was used to keep food cool before the modern refrigerator was invented. You will also discover the Well House with a donkey wheel from 1587, one of the earliest and largest surviving examples of its kind.

A longer walk

Enjoy the 3km estate boundary walk following the grey arrows through the farmland and beech woods. Thanks to the work of the Chiltern Society this walk is now stile-free. The paths are uneven and may be muddy depending on the weather.

Please keep dogs under close control on this walk as you may come across different types of wildlife and grazing farm animals.

Summer in the garden

The Rose Garden

Bursting with colour, the walled rose garden at Greys Court has a wide variety of roses coming into bloom during June, from old varieties surrounding the lawn, to newer ones near the 12th-century wall. Enjoy their glorious colours and fragrances as you wander around the paths.

The meadow

Follow the mown path to enjoy the wildflowers of the meadow in the Walled Garden, where purple alliums emerge in the summer months. Please take care to keep to the path through the meadow. Even though it is tempting to run through the wildflowers to take a good photo, this causes damage.

Peony border

With colours ranging from the purest white to dark, rich reds, and all the hues in between, the peony border is a splendid sight to take in as it comes to life throughout June. Find it near the orchard in the walled garden.

Colourful mixed borders

As we move into the summer months, the mixed borders are starting to fill up. Look out for the pink and purple border in the Rose Garden, with a collection of hardy geraniums filling up the space with beautiful colour.

Next to the greenhouses, the garden team also have a cut flower border, where fragrant colourful blooms such as sweet peas are grown, to be displayed in the buildings around the site.

Kitchen Garden

Enjoy seeing many crops being harvested in the Kitchen Garden throughout August. Some soft fruit is sent to the kitchen in the house, where volunteers continue the tradition of jam making started by Lady Brunner.

Hydrangeas

Take in the hydrangeas coming to life in the rose garden during August. Two here have received the Award of Garden Merit from the RHS. The ‘Rosalba’ and the ‘Preziosa’ are both compact bushes and their flowers open white then gradually go from pink to reddish purple.

A view down a pathway flanked with squre edged raised beds full of plants and flowers, with green painted wooden obelisks rising from the beds and a gap between neatly clipped green hedges in the distance — The garden is home to a wide range of flora and fauna | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Moon Bridge

This was designed by Francis Pollen as a Chinese-style ‘moon bridge’, dedicated to the Brunners’ Chinese friend, the cookery writer Dr So Yan-Kit. The area below the bridge is planted with blue irises, created to give the impression of moving water.

The arboretum

The garden to the north of the house features many handsome mature trees, including larches, Catalpa bignoniodies and arbutus, which were suggested by Humphrey Waterfield.