Hatfield Park

Hatfield Park is the great estate that surrounds Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, the Jacobean home of the Cecil family. Covering around 1,000 acres of parkland, woodland and farmland, the park stretches eastwards from the house towards the River Lea and contains some of the finest ancient oaks in southern England, several of which are believed to be over 600 years old.

For visitors, the park offers a network of waymarked walking and cycling trails through the West Garden, the Wilderness, and the wider deer park, with views back to the red-brick facades of the house. The formal gardens around the house include the East and West Gardens, the New Pond Garden, and a productive Jacobean-style kitchen garden, all overlooked by the surviving wing of the Tudor Old Palace where the young Princess Elizabeth was raised. A traditional courtyard adjacent to the house hosts a farm shop, restaurant and stable yard with independent boutiques and craft studios.

The estate hosts a year-round programme of events, from the Living Crafts fair and Frost Fair to outdoor theatre, food festivals and seasonal trails for families. Hatfield railway station, on the East Coast main line from London King's Cross, sits directly opposite the park gates, making this one of the most easily reached country estates from the capital.