Exploring the estate at Tyntesfield

Visitors walking through Truckle Wood, Tyntesfield | © National Trust Images/Alana Wright

The wider Tyntesfield estate is a diverse area, contrasting the designed landscape with wilder parts. The estate offers space for remote and tranquil walks and wildlife watching, or shaded woods for experimental den building with the family. This special place for nature can be enjoyed throughout the seasons.

Room for little adventurers

With hundreds of acres to explore, there's plenty of room to run wild, including three play areas for your little ones, including a den-building village with sticks galore for all the family.

Woodlands

In the Plantation wood you can explore trails and paths all laid out by Tyntesfield's previous owners.

Head over to Truckle wood, Sidelands and Wraxall Woods to discover semi-natural ancient woodland landscapes. Mature beech, oak and sweet chestnut are just some of the interesting species to be found here.

This is a timeless part of the estate, the woodland offers a tranquil space to immerse yourself in nature. Take care as paths can be slippery after wet weather.

Parkland

Parts of Tyntesfield belong to a Registered Historic Park, a landscape that also stretches into Belmont. Wildflower meadows, interspersed with mature and young trees form part of this landscape. Views from the woodland of the open parkland are stunning and the old estate wall can be traced up into the woodland along the boundary.

Farming

Our tenant farmer works with us to maintain a large interconnecting estate. We have arable fields where crops are grown, and pasture on which cattle graze, plus our tenant maintains the hedgerows. The cattle contribute to attracting the various wildlife we are fortunate to support, as their dung is a vital food source for the beetles and bats to feed on.

The orchard

The current orchard started to take shape only a few years ago. The boundary follows old hedge lines from field systems of the nineteenth century when the house was built.

We’ll be planting a variety of fruits, from apples, pears and mulberries to walnuts, damsons and quince. The majority will have their history in Somerset and some are heritage varieties, not usually grown commercially.

The blossom we'll see in spring will encourage bees and butterflies to the orchard and the saplings will become home for invertebrates.

Close up of a waxcap fungus in dewy grass with a cranefly on the underside gills — A waxcap fungus attracting insects at Tyntesfield. | © National Trust Images / Corrinne Manning

Wildlife at Tyntesfield

A wide variety of bats, birds, badgers, hares, moths and reptiles are just some of the creatures that can be seen at different times of day and night on the estate.

Trees for owls

We are always mindful of our obligation to maintain the habitats that support these rare and interesting animals which we encourage to call this place home.

This ranges from maintaining old trees known to be home to bats and owls to preserving archaeological features in the landscape.

Ponds for newts

We also look after ponds that newts come back to each year to breed, and fields where wildflowers grow. We cut the grass at the right time to allow the rare waxcaps to show and have returned arable fields to wildflower meadows, and headlands which are home to small mammals.

Life in the meadows

The meadows at Tyntesfield are home to countless species of wildlife, such as silver-washed fritillary butterflies, hares, orchids and variety of invertebrates.

The meadows are naturally reseeded so you'll always be able to find new life here when you come back.