The Grounds

Enjoy exploring the Winter walk, grounds and woodlands here at Stoneleigh Abbey, with an abundance of birds and wildlife. During the winter months you can take a stroll along the River Avon that runs through the grounds and see the Leigh family pet cemetery or the restored pump house. The main house is only accessed via guided tours.

The grounds at Stoneleigh Abbey were designed by Humphry Repton, a famous eighteenth-century landscape gardener. In 1809 Humphry Repton’s hand-painted Red Book provided Reverend Thomas Leigh, owner of Stoneleigh Abbey at the time, with ample ideas for improvement.

Works have begun at Stoneleigh to restore the grounds as Repton intended, featuring spectacular views of the house from across the River Avon. It was the preference of Repton that the alterations to the estate should enhance natural beauty rather than tame it.

Over the coming years you will be able to watch the landscape transform as bridges are restored and reinstated, the pump house is repaired and returned to working order, and a series of walks are reinstated and reopened for you to enjoy.

Repairs will be made to the fences along the drive and the ancient oak tree near the visitor car park, dated to be nearly a thousand years old, will be given a statelier setting befitting its majesty.

Parts of the project which have already been completed include the restoration of the gazebo on the river near the Orangery, the reinstatement of the reflective lake, repairs to the weirs upstream and restoration of the Georgian sluices. None of this work would have been possible without the help, support, advice and funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and Natural England.