Deer in parks and farms
The BDS maintains a comprehensive list of parks, zoos, farm attractions and other establishments in the UK which hold captive or enclosed deer. Click on the link below to open a spreadsheet (which can be searched by location, species present etc) showing those which are open to the public.
*Please note: When you click on this link a copy of our spreadsheet will be downloaded onto your computer.
We strongly recommend you check opening details before visiting any of the listed establishments.
Please be aware that circumstances may have changed since they were recorded and some species shown may no longer be present. If there are any details that you feel should be changed or added, please notify the BDS at technical@bds.org.uk
Other places to watch deer
Listed below are some places where you may find both wild and/or exotic species of deer roaming. (Please note that details may change so you are advised to check the appropriate website before planning your visit. Please note that BDS is not responsible for the content of any external website.)
This link below shows deer viewing locations of particular interest to photographers.
Forestry Commission woodland
If you were to walk very quietly through any reasonably sized wood for an hour immediately after first light you would probably see wild deer of one species or another. Most Forestry Commission woodlands hold populations of wild deer and are open to the public.
The deer can be difficult to approach, not only because they are wild, but also because there are usually other people walking around. However, the deer can become accustomed to people looking at them, so are not always too shy.
SOUTH EAST ENGLAND
British Wildlife Centre
Lingfield, Surrey RH7 6LF
Fallow, red, roe and muntjac deer
A small park created in 1997 to showcase native British wildlife. Admission charge.
Knepp Estate
New Barn Farm, West Sussex RH13 8NN
Roe are wild, red & fallow enclosed
The largest rewilding project in lowland Britain and the largest of its kind in lowland Europe. Here, natural processes – driven by large ungulates – are allowed to take place on an influential scale.
Bushy Park
Hampton Court Road, Hampton Hill, London TW12 2EJ
Fallow & Red deer
Known for its natural beauty, over 300 deer live in the park, which is also scattered with a series of ponds providing a home to many swans and a large variety of birds.
Free public access.
Knole Park
Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0RP
Fallow & sika deer
At 1000 acres Knole Park is one of the few deer parks in England to have survived the past 500 years (there were 700 in the 16th century) and the only one in Kent.
Free public access.
Lodge Park & Sherborne Estate
Aldsworth, nr Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 3PP
Fallow & roe deer (wild deer only)
Beautiful Cotswold country estate with deer course and 17th-century grandstand and surrounded by water meadows and parkland.
Petworth Park
Petworth, Sussex GU28 0AE
Fallow deer
Late 17th-century mansion set in a beautiful 283-hectare (700-acre) deer park, landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown. Fallow deer have called Petworth Park home for over 500 years. Today around 900 of them grace the parkland.
Free public access to park but parking charges apply.
Richmond Park
Richmond, London
Fallow & red deer
This environment has been created by centuries of grazing by herds of red and fallow deer. During the autumn rut, the red stags and fallow bucks compete for females (hinds and does respectively). The large males roar, bark and clash antlers in an attempt to fight off rivals and attract as many females as possible.
Free public access.
SKY PARK FARM
Petersfield, West Sussex GU31 5PT
Sika & red deer
Sky Park Farm is a real working farm, offering authentic insights into life on a busy farm devoted to deer. You’ll be able to stroll through the ‘races’ – fenced paths linking our fields – where you can get close to the herds.
Admission charge.
Wildwood Trust
Herne Bay, Kent ST6 7LQ
Roe, fallow & red deer
Beautiful ancient forest, between the historic city of Canterbury and the pretty coastal town of Herne Bay.
Admission charge.
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Park, Bedfordshire MK17 9WA
Red, fallow, Pere David’s, barasingha, muntjac, Manchurian sika, rusa, axis & Chinese water deer
Covering 3,000 acres Woburn is home to nine species of deer making it one of the largest private conservation parks in Europe.
Open April to end of October.
Admission charge.
SOUTH west ENGLAND
Ashton Court Estate
Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN
Red & fallow deer
A fine country mansion in 850 acres of woodland and pasture, part of which is an easily accessible deer park.
Open all year.
Free to the public.
Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary
Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive, Minstead, nr Lyndhurst SO43
Fallow deer
From April to September large numbers of fallow deer are attracted by food put out each day by the Forestry Commission. It is not unusual to see more than fifty deer in loose groups waiting to be fed. Both bucks and does are often present, which is unusual in the New Forest, as the sexes normally remain apart other than for the autumnal rut. Amongst the conventionally marked fallow deer, a number of white bucks and does may be seen, along with animals of unusually dark colour. A specially built viewing platform provides ideal opportunities to watch, photograph and appreciate these noble animals. Free car park nearby.
Dyrham Park
nr Chippenham, Wilts, SN14 8ER
Fallow deer
A spectacular late 17th-century Baroque mansion and deer park covering 110ha (274 acres).
New Forest Wildlife Park
Deerleap Lane, Longdown, nr Ashhurst, Southampton SO40 4UH
Red deer
25 acres of ancient woodland set within the New Forest National Park.
Admission charge.
Powderham Castle Deer Park
Exeter, Devon, EX6 8JQ
Fallow deer
Take a Deer Safari tractor trailer ride into the deer park to admire the Castle’s surrounding natural rugged beauty from the banks of the Exe estuary, and around 600 fallow deer as well as other wildlife.
CENTRAL ENGLAND
Charlecote Park
Charlecote, Nr Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9ER
Fallow deer
Grand 16th century country house and deer park, on the banks of the River Avon four miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon. Miles of walks and views across the river. A herd of fallow deer has been in the park since Tudor times.
Chatsworth Park
Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1PP
Fallow & red deer
The 1000-acre park is open all year round.
Admission charge.
Bradgate Park
Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire LE6 0HE
Fallow & red deer
Famous for its deer herd Bradgate was ‘enclosed’ with a timber pale boundary around 1240. It is now the only remaining enclosed medieval deer park in the East Midlands that still retains much of its original form. The average number of deer at Bradgate is around 400, about three-quarters of which are fallow deer.
Free admission but parking charges apply.
Grimsthorpe Castle Park & Gardens
Bourne, Lincs PE10 0LZ
Red, fallow & muntjac deer
The park at extends to almost 3,000 acres and is around five miles across at its longest point. Two enclosed deer parks were once inside the boundary. Today the deer parks have gone but the deer now run wild across the whole of the estate. Open April to September.
Admission charge.
Helmingham Hall
Helmingham, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 6EF
Red & fallow deer
The Park encloses 400 acres and has large herds of both red and fallow deer. The deer have been in the Park for many centuries – the earliest mention of them is in 1660.
Open May to September.
Holkham Hall & Estate
Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk NR23 1AB
Fallow & red deer
3,000-acre deer park on the beautiful north Norfolk coast.
Admission charge.
Snettisham Park Farm
Snettisham, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 7NQ
Red deer
A 329-acre working farm and wildlife park offering a 45-minute safari trip around the deer park.
Watatunga WilDLIFE RESERVE
Watlington Rd, King’s Lynn Pe33 0Rg PE33 0RG
Axis (Chital) deer, Barasingha , Indian hog deer, Vietnamese sika deer, Père David’s deer, White lipped (Thorold’s) deer and water deer, roe and fallow
170 acres of woodland, grassland and lakes. See many deer species of convervation concern.
Wollaton Park
Wollaton, Nottinghamshire NG8 2AE
Red and fallow deer
500 acres of spectacular gardens and parkland where the deer roam freely. Open all year. Free entry but there is a parking charge.
NORTHERN ENGLAND
Dunham Massey
Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 4SJ
Fallow deer
Set in a magnificent 121-hectare (300-acre) deer park this Georgian house was a military hospital during the First World War.
Admission charge.
Lyme Park
Disley, Stockport, Cheshire SK12 2NR
Fallow & Red deer
A 17-acre garden retaining many original features from Jacobean and Tudor times is surrounded by a medieval deer park, with herds of red and fallow deer, covering almost 1,400 acres of moorland, woodland and parkland and containing an early 18th-century hunting tower.
Admission charges.
Raby Castle
Staindrop, Darlington, Co. Durham DL2 3AH
Red & fallow deer
The 200-acre deer park surrounding Raby Castle has red deer and the smaller fallow deer – both herds containing the descendants of deer preserved in this area since Norman times.
Open May to September.
Admission charge.
Tatton Park
Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN
Red & fallow deer
The deer park at Tatton was created by Royal Charter in 1290. Eight centuries later, the deer still provide a magnificent sight for visitors as they roam freely in over 1,000 acres of beautiful parkland. The deer herd totals 400 breeding head.
Admission charge.
Wentworth Castle
Lowe Lane, Stainborough, Barnsley S75 3ET
Red & fallow deer
The Castle Gardens & Stainborough Park extends to over 500 acres and includes historic gardens and parkland.
Free entry but parking charges apply.
WALES / CYMRU
Margam Country Park
Margam, Port Talbot SA13 2TJ
Fallow, Pere David’s, & red deer
Deer roam through 500 acres (200 hectares) of parkland.
The herd was originally exclusively fallow, but in the last 15 years firstly Red deer and then Pere David deer have been introduced. The Pere David are an endangered species and are part of a breeding programme in conjunction with Whipsnade Safari Park.
The herd at the present time consists of approx 300 fallow deer, 64 red and 34 Pere David.
Free entry but parking charges apply.
Dinefwr House
Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire SA19 6RT
Fallow deer
The estate holds a 100 acre medieval deer park. Roamed by a herd of over 100 Fallow Deer.
Admission charge
SCOTLAND
Beecraigs Country Park
nr Linlithgow, West Lothian EH49 6PL
Red deer
Established in 1977, the red deer herd is maintained as a visitor attraction and guided walks are run throughout the year. Visitors can enjoy the views from the raised platform and explore the walkways through the fields.
Free entry.
The Highland Wildlife Park Kincraig
Kingussie, Inverness-shire, PH21 1NL
Red, White-Lipped, Bukhara deer & Reindeer
Owned by The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, this drive-through park has a visitor centre and plenty to see and photograph.
Admission charge.
Jedforest Deer and Farm Park
Mervinslaw Estate, Camptown, Jedburgh TD8 6PL
Red, Fallow, Sika & Muntjac deer
Set in the rolling countryside of the Scottish Borders the Park nestles in the Jed Valley with views over the Cheviot Hills. Open Easter to end of October.
Admission charge.
The Scottish Deer Centre
Cupar, Fife KY15 4NQ
Axis, Bukhara, Barasingha, Chinese Water deer, Fallow, Hog, moose, muntjac, Pere David’s, Red, Reindeer, Roe, Sika, Wapiti & White-Lipped deer
A 55-acre conservation, education and research centre. Deer can be viewed from viewing platforms and scenic pathways.
Admission charge.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Gosford Forest Park
Markethill, Co. Armagh, BT60 1UG
Red deer
Formerly Gosford Demesne, the park comprises some 240 hectares of diverse woodland and open parkland set in gentle rolling drumlin countryside.
Free entry.
Parkanaur Forest Park
Castlecaulfield, Co. Tyrone BT71 3AA
Fallow deer
The white fallow deer are the descendants from a pair that were sent by Queen Elizabeth I to her niece at Mallow Castle in County Cork. This herd has been in Parkanaur Forest since the mid-1970s. Members of the public are welcome to walk through the deer enclosure by a designated path.
Free entry.
Randalstown Forest
off Staffordstown Rd. Randalstown, Co Antrim
Fallow deer
A small, 10 hectare, deer enclosure has been constructed. Within the enclosure, 20 to 25 fallow deer are retained, providing the opportunity to quietly observe the deer from a raised wooden platform overlooking the enclosure.
