Panshanger Park

Finding the park GalleryNews and Events

Panshanger Park is located on the site of a former sand and gravel quarry, with its beautiful landscapes making it a vital refuge for wildlife and a favourite destination for thousands of visitors each year.

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust works in partnership with Tarmac and landscape managers Maydencroft to care for the park’s meadows, lakes and woodlands.  The Trust provides ecological advice and expertise to help make the site the best it can be for wildlife.

For the first ten years, the Trust led the management of events and volunteering at the park before handing over the reins for this element of the partnership to the new Panshanger Park Community Ranger.

To find out more about the park, local events and volunteering opportunities please contact the park team – panshangerpark@maydencroft.com.

Wildlife of Panshanger Park

Panshanger Park is made up of a mosaic of habitats including woodlands, wetlands, grasslands and reedbeds making it a fantastic refuge for a huge variety of wildlife. During the spring and summer months, a multitude of wildflowers, butterflies, dragonflies and birds brings the park to life. Even in the autumn and winter the park is far from quiet. Large numbers of ducks migrate into the park from the further north to spend the winter on the lakes meaning that Panshanger is a great place to visit at any time of year.

Panshanger Park is home to 19 species of dragonfly and damselfly regularly found in Hertfordshire. In 2023, the British Dragonfly Society recognised Panshanger Park as a dragonfly hotspot, due to it being a fantastic place for Dragonfly and Damselfly species to live and thrive. Visit the Dragonfly Trail in the summer to see how many you can spot!

Walking in Panshanger Park

There are lots of trails to enjoy at Panshanger Park that take in the best of the park - from the Great Oak to the Dragonfly Trail and many more besides. 

Click here to download a map of Panshanger Park

A brief history

Owned by the Cowper family from the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the Panshanger Estate was shaped around the Mimram Valley following advice from Humphry Repton and Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Panshanger Park is registered as a Grade: II* park and garden by Historic England. 

More recently since the 1980s, the park has been owned by Tarmac and parts have been quarried for sand and gravel. Much of the site has now been restored to arable farming and a range of valuable wildlife habitats including a new section of chalk river and a number of lakes. The park opened to the public in 2014 and comprises a country park and nature reserve. More of the site will be opened up in a series of carefully managed phases as the remaining extraction processes on site come to an end.

You can find out more about the park and its history here: https://panshangerpark.tarmac.com.

Finding Panshanger Park

By car: The entrance to Panshanger Park is via the Thieves Lane car park located just off the A414 near Hertford. The nearest postcode is SG14 2WN. Please note that the entrance to the car park is on your left immediately after turning off the A414 at the roundabout onto Thieves Lane. Look out for the white entrance signs!

Nearest postcode: SG14 2WN

Please note: there is a 2m height barrier at the entrance and a parking charge of £2.50 per day. The parking charge is taken by our Park Rangers via a card payment only. 

By train: Train to Hertford North station. Approximately a 1km walk west from the station

By bus: 324, 341, 378, 396, 641, 724 all stop on Welwyn Road just north east of the park