Rownham Plantation

Rownham Plantation

Rownham Plantation is on the south facing slopes of Rownham Hill, as the photo above shows its immediately above the red deer park that you pass if you enter the estate via Kennel Lodge Road.

Its very easy to reach from the mansion car park. Just walk to the car park entrance on Kennel Lodge Road and look for a wide footpath running up the hill with a tall fence on one side.

Walk up the hill a short way and you reach a gateway in the fence leading to the Rownham Plantation through the red deer enclosure. Please read and follow any instructions posted there.

From here keep to the level path and you can walk about 150m to get to Rownham Plantation, the single fence on the paths right has gaps in usually allowing the deer free access between the upper and lower pastures. With a dew pond just before you reach the wood.

Inside Rownham Plantation the foot paths are narrow dirt tracks, steep in places, mucky in places, sometimes a bit over grown. Not to surprisingly its one of the quieter places in Ashton Court.

Scrub woodland that grew up on the woods edge and blocked views of the deer has been removed recently. Making the plantation a good place to view the red deer. I have once seen wild Roe Deer here too.

Note that if you don't turn right to Rownham Plantation, you can continue up to another gateway that runs inside the deer park with Summerhouse Plantation to your left. This is a wide unpaved track that continues up to the very top of the estate. Both paths at times can give very good views of the red deer.