General Information

Introduction

Ashton Court Estate is unique locally, regionally and nationally. With over 1.6 million visitors annually, it is the UKs third busiest country park. It's Grade 2 registered landscape, with 850 acres of woodland and grassland, and Grade 1 listed mansion rank amongst the country's finest.

Once the gracious home of the Smyth family, Ashton Court Estate is now an easily accessible historic estate, much of which was designed by Humphrey Repton, two miles from the centre of Bristol. Discover the magnificent old oak trees and see the deer graze in an estate that first became a deer park over six hundred years ago.

On the estate's higher ground there are two 18 hole golf courses with stunning views across the city. Orienteering, mountain biking and lots of other sports and outdoor activities are catered for with special trails, and there is plenty of open space for family games and picnics, walking and wildlife watching. The estate is a venue for large scale, keynote annual events such as the Balloon Festival, Community Festival and Kite Festival.

Improving views and vistas, providing better facilities for visitors such as toilets, car parking, educational and learning resources and a dedicated picnic area, as well as major works to the boundary wall are just a few of the many restoration and development works in the current £4.4 million Heritage Lottery funding package. Newsletters updating progress on the Heritage Lottery funded package of improvements are available to download from the related documents section at the foot of this page. Follow the link at the top of this page to find out more about our new visitor centre and other facilities and activities.

Access

Ashton Court Estate is situated two miles from Bristol City Centre. The main entrances are off the A369 Portishead Road at Kennel Lodge Road, for the mansion and centre of the estate, and at Clifton Lodge for the golf course and top of the estate.

The Avon Cycle Way runs from Long Ashton through the estate to Clifton Lodge.

For information on public transport access to the estate, please call 0117 955 3231 or plan your journey to Ashton Court with Journey Planner , City Map Viewer and Regional Map. Click here to view a GIS map of Ashton Court Estate.

Opening times:

8.00am - dusk daily. Access may be restricted on some major event days. Admission is free, although there is a charge for admission to some events which take place on the estate.

Facilities:

• The visitor centre, in the stable block of the mansion, provides a multi-media visitor guide (visual and audio), trail maps and details of activities and events. The centre is currently under re-development - please check these pages regularly for more information.
• There is a cafe, exhibition space and disabled access public toilets.
• There are public toilets and a cafe at the golf kiosk.

Wildlife

The estate is noted for its wildlife, with a mixture of grassland, woodland, and ponds. The ancient oak trees and the insects and birds which inhabit them are particularly important and much of the estate is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest. To find out more about wildlife in Bristol, follow this link.

Publications to help your visit:

The Ashton Court Discovery Pack, maps, information on nature trails and other information is available from the Ashton Court Visitor Centre on 0117 963 9174 or can be downloaded from the 'related documents' section at the foot of this page.

Contact us

You can call the Ashton Court Estate Office on 0117 963 9174, Monday to Thursday 8.30am - 4pm and on Friday 4.30pm, or email the Ashton Court Estate office. Alternatively you can text us on 0771 039 6713 to report flytipping, graffiti, or make any other comments about Ashton Court Estate. Please provide as much information and specific details about the location as possible, attaching any supporting photographs. We will only phone you back if we require further information.

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