Things to see and do in the gardens and parkland

Published:: 03 September 2026

Visitors in the garden in autumn — Autumn in the garden at Hanbury Hall | © NTI/John Millar

Hanbury Hall is the very essence of a countryside retreat; impressive yet intimate and welcoming. It owes much of that feeling to its beautiful, recreated eighteenth-century garden, and 400 acres of Grade II listed parkland. With three way-marked routes to choose from, there’s plenty of opportunity to find the perfect walk for you to stretch your legs and admire the surrounding Worcestershire countryside.

Changing seasons

From mid-September onwards, you'll see the first signs of autumn throughout the garden. The trees begin to show hints of seasonal colour and continue to change until late November, so there is always a different, colourful landscape to be seen. The lime, oak and elm trees that make up the avenues are awash with vibrant colour and look particularly impressive from the Stableyard.

Autumn is the ideal time to explore Hanbury’s gardens, jump in crunchy leaves, discover shiny conkers from the magnificent horse chestnut tree and enjoy the invigorating fresh air with all the family.

A woman and child walk through the orchard at Hanbury Hall, Worcestershire. The trees are in full green leaf and apples can be seen amongst the leaves. — Visitors walking through the orchard at Hanbury Hall and Gardens | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Autumn highlights

Enjoy the seasonal fruit, vegetables and fresh cut flowers available from the Walled Garden stall.
Marvel at the magical, changing colours of the leaves on the trees.
Challenge friends to a game of conkers foraged from our magnificent horse chestnut tree.
Visit the Orchard and see the branches of our apple trees heavy with ripened fruit.
Keep your eyes peeled for the first signs of migrating birds in the garden, especially fieldfares and redwings which are attracted by the windfall apples in the orchard.

Walled Garden

Enjoy a little seclusion among the flowers, fruits and vegetables of the peaceful Walled Garden. The Vernon family would have used the seasonal produce grown here to supply their kitchen.

Spread over one-and-a-half acres, the Walled Garden is certified organic by the Soil Association. The autumn months are some of the most productive, with a bountiful harvest of pumpkins, squashes, leeks, cabbages, celeriac and swede. Top of the gardeners' to-do list in the autumn, is to harvest this produce for use in the kitchen and for sale at the produce stall in the garden for you to enjoy at home.

Walled Orchard and Formal Fruit Garden

The walled orchard and the formal fruit garden contain 56 traditional English fruit varieties, including the Golden Pippin, Howgate Wonder and the traditional Bramley. Harvesting begins in the early autumn.

Find out more...

Most days you'll find the gardening team hard at work, whatever the weather. They'll be happy to tell you more about the gardens and share a few of their tips, or you can just take a seat and enjoy the results of all their hard work.

Explore the parkland

Explore Hanbury Hall’s historic parkland on an winter walk and admire the beautiful Worcestershire countryside. Enjoy routes that lead you through the remains of an ancient forest, past impressive early eighteenth-century design features including the Semi-Circle, Long Walk and Lime Tree Walk designed by George London.

Download our parkland walks map here.

Avenue of trees with bare branches lining a path, with open ground to either side — Church Avenue at Hanbury Hall | © National Trust

Guided Parkland Walks

Join us for a walk around our parkland with one of our experienced garden guides. Find out about the history of the park and the ongoing work to restore some of the original features.

Every Saturday from January the 10th to March the 28th at 11am.

Walk length: 1.5 hours

Meeting point: In front of the forecourt gates

Please note, this route has steep terrain in places and is not accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs. We advise you to wear suitable footwear. All walks are weather dependent.

Normal admission charges apply, free for National Trust members.

Branches of bare trees with greenery in the background. — Tree 4: Megaliths | © Paul Ligas

Ghost Tree Trail

Pick up a free trail and find out more about the ghost trees that can be found in the parkland at Hanbury Hall.

Ghost trees are trees that have been harmed or killed (due to drought, flooding, pollution, pests, and diseases), but their trunks and branches remain upright. The parkland here at Hanbury Hall is home to many ghost trees, which are mostly Sweet Chestnut trees around 200 years old. They died when exposed to a waterborne disease called Phytophthora.

Take a trail on your walk around the parkland and see if you can find all the ghost trees, and learn more about these eerie but beautiful silhouettes in the landscape. A child friendly version of the trail with activities is also available.

Tree planting

Over winter we planted 24 new trees in the Front Park at Hanbury Hall. Using funding from the The Queen’s Green Canopy, the trees will be planted according to the Parkland Plan which used historic OS maps to trace where trees were positioned in the past.

The specimen trees include species such as hornbeam, oak, lime and pear. Look out for these new trees and watch them grow when you venture out into the Front Park.