Lotherton is a very popular place, attracting over three quarters of a million visitors each year. As well as house, Costume gallery, and Nightingale gallery there are extensive gardens and grounds.
Website: Lotherton Hall
Formal gardens
These famous and distinctive Edwardian gardens surround the Hall on three sides. We owe a great deal for their creation to Mrs Laura Gwendolen Gascoigne - Sir Alvary's mother. In true Gertrude Jekyll style she divided the gardens into several parts, each with its own distinctive character from highly formal to semi-wild. There is a terrace, a formal garden with gravel paths and yew hedges, a rock garden, a walled garden and the William and Mary garden laid out in the 17th century Dutch style.
Beyond the formal gardens there is much to see and do. Walk quietly along the perimeter fence of the deer Park and watch the herd of red deer grazing. Saunter due south, off the beaten track onto Ranger's Walk or continue beyond the bird garden entrance, and the countryside is only footsteps away.
Captain Wood Walk
A short easy walk through open mixed broadleaved woodland. See the abundance of flowers and wildlife in the hazel and ash coppice coups. Coppicing is the ancient craft of cutting young trees and shrubs to ground level in a small area - a coup. This allows more sunlight to reach the woodland floor and encourages the growth of wildflowers. This path is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs all the year round.
Boundary Trail
Take a stroll round the cattle and horse paddocks on the south eastern side of the Estate on this circular walk of about two thirds of a mile. The hedgerows and pathways are rich with wildflowers and birds, and there are panoramic views of the open countryside. Partway round the trail is a group of standing stones, 'Geometry in the Landscape', surrounded by flower filled banks and ditches. It appeals to visitors either as an astronomical focal point, a place to sit and ponder or a great natural play area for children of all ages. Suitable for electric wheelchairs and pushchairs in summer.
Coburnhill Wood Walk
Put on your walking boots and follow Ranger's Walk - an ancient green track and public right of way - south off the estate towards Micklefield.
Please note that the Parks and Countryside's Head Office main reception telephone number 0113 3957400 is staffed from 8.00am - 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 8.00am - 4.00pm on a Friday. Outside of these hours you can leave a message on the answerphone.