Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Marshfield
Dyrham Park
William Blathwayt's baroque house of the 1690s below the Cotswold edge north of Bath, with a 270-acre deer park, a West Garden and Delftware, cared for by the National Trust and open through the winter as well as the summer.
Family-friendly
A full day out from Bath or the south Cotswolds: a baroque house, a steep deer park with long views and a play area for children. No dogs at all, because of the deer, and non-members pay to park.
- Good: Open through the winter as well as the summer
- Good: Shuttle from the car park down to the house
- Good: Play area and café at Old Lodge in the park
- Worth knowing: Assistance dogs only, because of the deer
- Worth knowing: Car park £4 a day or £2 for two hours for non-members
- Worth knowing: Steep parkland; only the house's ground floor is step-free
About
Dyrham Park is a baroque house below the Cotswold edge, 8 miles (13km) north of Bath on the A46 and about 2.5 miles (4km) north-west of Marshfield. William Blathwayt, a colonial administrator and diplomat, rebuilt it at the end of the seventeenth century, with a west front begun in 1692 to designs by Samuel Hauduroy and an east front by William Talman about a decade later, and filled it with Dutch paintings and Delftware. The National Trust cares for it, and tells the story of the fortune from empire that paid for it.
The house rooms are restored, with an exhibition in rooms never opened before. Outside are a West Garden with ponds, borders and a perry orchard, and 270 acres of steep, ancient parkland grazed by fallow deer, with views across the Cotswold hills to the Bristol Channel. The Trust's trails round the park run from 2 to 3 miles, among them the 3-mile Prospect Walk, and children have the Old Lodge play area and café in the park.
It opens through the winter as well as the summer. In late October 2026 the park and garden open 10am to 4pm and the house 11am to 3pm, with longer hours in summer. An adult pays £23, or £25.30 with Gift Aid, and a family of two adults and three children £57.50 (2026); National Trust members and under-5s go free, and there is no need to book. Non-members also pay £4 to park. Allow half a day, and come on a weekday in term time for the quietest visit.
Only assistance dogs are allowed, because of the deer. The Cotswold Way runs past the park on its last stretch to Bath, and our guide to Cotswold houses and castles has the other great houses within reach.
Opening hours and season
Open every day but 24 and 25 December 2026. From late October 2026: park and garden 10am to 4pm, house 11am to 3pm. Last entry 3pm from 25 October to 13 February, 4pm otherwise.
Facilities
- Car park£4 a day or £2 for two hours for non-members; JustPark code 80574
- Tea room and Old Lodge caféTea room daily; Old Lodge café weekends only in winter term time
- Old Lodge play areaIn the parkland, open all year
- Shop and second-hand bookshop
- ToiletsWith accessible toilets
- Shuttle and wheelchairsTwo 8-seat vehicles from the car park; four wheelchairs and a scooter to borrow
- Assistance dogs onlyBecause of the fallow deer herd
The details
- Time to allow
- Half a day
- Features
- Café · Shop · Parking · Picnic area · Play area · Guided tours
- History
- Rebuilt for William Blathwayt; west front begun 1692, east front a decade later
- Parking
- Car park off the A46 (satnav SN14 8HY): free to NT members, £4 a day or £2 for two hours otherwise. It closes at 4.30pm from late October to mid February.
- Without a car
- No bus runs to Dyrham. Bath Spa station is 8 miles away and Yate 7, both 15 to 20 minutes by taxi. The Cotswold Way passes the park.
Photos
The east front Photo: Mac Edmunds, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Tulips in the west garden Photo: Rick Crowley, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The garden pond and the church tower Photo: Mac Edmunds, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The long walk in the garden Photo: Kevin Pearson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Accessibility
- Accessible toilet
- Hearing loop
Steep, uneven parkland and cobbled areas. The house's ground floor, exhibition, garden, tea room and shop have level access; a tablet shows the first floor. Two shuttle vehicles with a ramp or lift run from the car park to the house. Four wheelchairs and a scooter to borrow; 12 Blue Badge spaces. Patchy phone signal.
Places to stay nearby
-
Gatekeepers Lodge
Self-catering · Dyrham
A former toll house on Upper Street, Dyrham, let as a holiday cottage for two, beside Dyrham Park and on the Cotswold Way.
Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
-
The Bell at Old Sodbury
Inn · Chipping Sodbury
A family-run 18th-century pub with four B&B rooms on Badminton Road, Old Sodbury, near Chipping Sodbury, on the edge of the Cotswold Way.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
-
The Moda House
B&B · Chipping Sodbury
A bed and breakfast in a Grade II* listed house of the late seventeenth century that closes the top of Chipping Sodbury's High Street, with eight en-suite rooms and breakfast cooked on the Aga.
Verified Oct 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Gatekeepers Lodge 0.6 km away
- The Catherine Wheel, Marshfield 4.0 km away
- The Bell at Old Sodbury 5.7 km away