Things to see and do in Croome's parkland

Floral delights

Throughout the garden roses will be coming into flower so keep your eyes peeled for the beautiful and delightfully scented blooms. The privet will be covered with delicate white flowers, not often seen as the flowers are usually cut off in topiary and hedge trimming.

The striking purple-flowered cardoons will be putting on a magnificent show in the large flowering studs in the evergreen shrubbery. These architectural flowers stand proud above the bed, bringing some structure and a vibrant dash of colour.

Exotic blooms

The plants will come out of the Temple Greenhouse, the building which was once used to house the 6th Earl of Coventry’s exotic plant collection and heated by a fire in the bothy behind. In the summer the windows are opened and the Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) will produce its exotic-looking flowers again, and there will be another great show of big blue flowers from the agapanthus.

A stroll around the grounds brings the sweet, heady scent of the flowering lime trees, delicate fragrance of the honeysuckle and mock orange or the luxuriant fragrance of the lilac and rock rose.

Orchids

There are two species of orchids in the parkland at Croome. They have not been planted or sown as seed, so they must have been brought in on the wind or via bird droppings. 

The pyramidal orchid grows in a range of habitats including chalk grasslands, coastal regions, scrub, road verges, abandoned quarries and railway embankments. Its common name comes from the bright pink, pyramid-shaped cluster of flowers that appear in June and July.

The common spotted orchid is the most common of all UK orchids and the one you're most likely to see. It grows in many different habitats including woodland, roadside verges, hedgerows, old quarries, sand dunes and marshes. Common spotted orchid gets its name from its leaves which are green with purplish oval spots. They have delicate, pale pink flower spikes between June and August.

If you see one of these beautiful plants whilst exploring the park, get down in the grass and study the exotic-looking flowers, but please don’t pick them. If left they will seed and there will be more orchids across the park every year.

Summer fauna

With over 730 acres of parkland and a diverse habitat, Croome is a fantastic place to watch wildlife. There is open farmed grassland, wildflower meadows, wetlands with acres of water, large trees, copses and scrub land – a perfect habitat for a huge variety of wildlife.

Birds

A walk through the Home Shrubbery gives you the chance to try and spot the nest of great spotted woodpeckers and also, unusually, a nuthatch flitting in and out of its nest secreted in the outside wall of the Walled Garden.

At the court the housemartins are back in force. See them collecting mud to repair their nests in the eaves of the court and swooping around the meadows catching flying insects on the wing.  

Across the south park with a keen eye you may spot kestrels and perhaps tawny, little or barn owls hunting field voles. The team are working with the tenant farmer to change the grazing regime which is helping the numbers of owls increase.

Walking towards the southern end of the river, you may spot hobbies hunting dragonflies. These impressive small falcons can even catch a swift in flight. Brightly coloured dragonflies and damselflies can be seen near the lakeside. Geese, moorhens, coots and ducks also enjoy the lake and in the late afternoon you may see the unmistakable bright blue and orange of a kingfisher hunting at the water's edge.

Bird song fills the park in the summer and you may hear a nightingale singing its majestic song out in the wider parkland in late spring and early summer.

Mammals and reptiles

Keep your eyes peeled and you may see the odd deer – there are wild roe and muntjac roaming the estate – or their hoof marks (called slots) in muddy patches out in the wider estate.

If you’re lucky, you may even spot a slowworm basking in the sunshine. They’re not actually snakes, but legless lizards, and there's a growing population here at Croome.

If you're here in early evening you may see bats swooping low over the water. These are Daubenton’s bats, the only bat in the UK to hunt over water, seeking to catch the flies emerging from their larval stages in the water.

Temples and follies

Panorama Tower

The Grade I listed Panorama Tower was designed by James Wyatt in 1801, based on an earlier design by Robert Adam for a similar building in the 1760s. The building is made of Bath stone and was modelled on Tempietto Romano in Rome, which was designed by Donato Bramante.

The Park Seat

The Park Seat was designed by Robert Adam in 1766 and has been known locally as The Owl's Nest, as it used to be a home to a barn owl. The Grade II listed building, which overlooks the parkland and has fantastic views to the court along the river, was restored in 2007.

Pirton Castle

Pirton Castle was designed by James Wyatt in 1801. Located on a ridge called Rabbit Bank, Pirton Castle was designed to be viewed from the park at Croome and was deliberately built as a ruin to make the 6th Earl of Coventry's estate seem much older than it actually was.

Dunstall Castle

Grade II* listed Dunstall Castle was designed by Robert Adam in 1766. Adam deliberately designed it as a whimsical folly with elements of both a castle and a church.

Chinese Bridge

When Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown was commissioned in 1751 to redesign both the house and the garden, the Chinese Bridge was one of the few features that he kept. Originally designed by William Halfpenny in the 1740s for the 5th Earl of Coventry, the bridge spanned the river close to Croome Court and linked the house to the wider parkland.

Silent Space

Discover Croome's Silent Space which is part of the Silent Space | Peaceful time in green places

Our Silent Space is located not far from the Rotunda in the Home Shrubbery, the 6th Earl of Coventry’s favourite place in the garden at Croome. Take a seat on one of the benches – listen to nature, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the views over the parkland. You might spot swans on the river or hear buzzards as they soar overhead. Enjoy a moment of rest and tranquillity before exploring more of the garden and park at Croome.