Walks Within & Near the Estate
There are three public footpaths and five summer walks in and near Highclere Castle.
Please download the Walks PDF for further information
Public Footpaths
Park Footpath
A public footpath runs across the A34 bridge in through the park gates, to the crossroads in the Park, turns right and the signs lead you across to Highclere village. Please do follow the signs and please keep dogs on leads.
Whitway Footpath
This runs from Old Burghclere to Whitway.
Beacon Hill
Access from the A34
There is a car park under Beacon Hill, and a steep walk up the hill takes you to the remains of an Iron Age fort. The views are spectacular from here throughout the year. Please keep all dogs on a lead throughout this area and be aware there is livestock grazing.
Summer Walks
Milford Lake Walk
Access from Penwood Road by the A34.
Open: the first and second weekends in May, then 7 days per week throughout July and August.
This walk is open on the first May Bank Holiday weekend and the following one (May 8th and 9th). It is then open from July 4th until September 2nd. The rhododendron and azalea gardens around Milford Lake have been admired by visitors for nearly 200 years.
Some of the rhododendrons have been massed together for effect and there are also individual, unusual species collected for colour and rarity. First created by the 2nd Earl of Carnarvon (1772-1833), they were significantly developed by the 7th Earl (1924-2001) and his friend, the renowned landscape gardener, Jim Russell.
The Milford Walk begins just inside the drive to London Lodge (off the Penwood Road). It takes the visitors down in a circular route past very old tall azaleas, some unusual homebred specimens on the “Ladies Walk”. The southern part of the walk follows a woodland path and skirts Dunsmere Lake, looking across at the Temple of Diana.
Some car parking is available on the other side of the road opposite the entrance to London Lodge, but parking is entirely at owner’s risk.
Cemetery Chapel walk
Access from Church Entrance to Highclere Estate or Cemetery.
Open: Spring Bank holiday weekends, then 7 days per week throughout July and August. Dogs on leads.
The Victorian Cemetery Chapel in Highclere Park was built by the 3rd Countess of Carnarvon to offer comfort to those who grieve. A service is still held once a year at the end of August.
To one side, is a seasonal footpath running past the graveyard towards some large redwood trees and newly planted azaleas. The footpath is quite wet and narrow at times, but worth exploring.
It skirts a small lake with sunken forest and some ancient woodland, joining up with the drive, taking walkers out through the Park exit towards Highclere village.
London Lodge Walk
Access from Penwood Road by the A34.
Open: Spring Bank Holiday weekends, then 7 days per week throughout July and August.
No dogs are allowed on this walk as it runs through areas where livestock is free to graze.
Visitors may walk to view the Temple from either the stile by London Lodge, or from the footpath that runs though Highclere Park. It was the original main approach to the Castle, providing glimpses of the Castle as it wound through the landscape.
The Temple of Diana lies midway along the walk and has been restored by the 8th Earl of Carnarvon with help from English Heritage, Hampshire County Council and BDBC. A grassy track and stile at the foot of the Temple leads to a walk across a field to rejoin the footpath in the middle of the Park.
We would ask every walker to shut carefully any gates!
Some car parking is available on the other side of the road opposite the entrance to London Lodge, but parking is entirely at owner’s risk.
Heaven’s Gate Walk
Access from Wayfarer's Walk.
Open: Easter Bank Holiday to August Bank Holiday, 7 days per week.
Dogs on leads.
About a mile past the Three Legged Cross coming from the west on the Wayfarers Walk, is a signed turning to a seasonal walk towards a brick folly called Heaven’s Gate.
This Walk is open from Easter to the August Bank Holiday and goes through a beech wood planted by Robert Herbert in about 1730, to the brick folly he built in 1743.
It is an archway framing views north to Wantage and is an ornamental building to be admired from Highclere Castle. The beech trees are planted throughout Highclere and grow successfully on the chalk downlands.
Grotto Lodge walk
Access from Wayfarers Walk or Highclere Street.
Open: Easter Bank Holiday to August Bank Holiday, 7 days per week.
Dogs on leads.
This seasonal footpath is open to walkers and ramblers throughout the Spring and Summer, from Easter until the August Bank holiday.
It links the Wayfarers Walk (about ½ mile after Three Legged Cross) to Highclere Street.
The rolling Hampshire countryside offers views from Wayfarers Walk through to Highclere, Hollington, East Woodhay and the distant hills.
