Guided Tours | 19th – 31st August
Explore our Grade II* Listed Mansion on a guided, hour-long tour through its finest rooms, with garden access included. Limited dates this August.
Managing the wider Estate
Much of the estate and all of the woodland is run within a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. Large areas are planted with wildflower meadows and species-rich grassland to encourage biodiversity. The 150 acres of parkland around the mansion and gardens are grazed by Sussex Cattle over the summer months.
Improving and maintaining the environment is an important aspect of management at Goodnestone Park. In 2021 the estate commissioned The Kent Wildlife Trust to carry out a Natural Capital Appraisal to identify levels of biodiversity across the estate. The report has provided us with a baseline assessment of our natural assets.
It highlighted areas dedicated to the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and areas suitable for biodiversity enhancement. It also indicated enhancements to the recreational, health and education benefits provided by the garden and public access.
Well connected
The estate is well connected to cycle routes and public footpaths, which run across much of the land surrounding the main house and gardens. The Serpentine Walk, reinstated in 2014, is of particular note.
The walk follows a route that would have been familiar to Jane Austen when she visited her brother Edward who lived on the estate. The Serpentine Path winds its way through the parkland, blending with the surrounding landscape and allowing fine views of the mansion. It passes areas of historic wood pasture, an early Ice House and extensive chalk grassland.