Harcourt Arboretum

Once you have come up the drive and passed the ticket office, the car park is the area on your right hand side.  The car park is mostly packed earth with underlying plastic mesh, although cars are parked on gravel.  There are several blue badge spaces on the left when you go in.  If these are full, there is plenty of space in the rest of the car park, although you will have to cross more gravel to get back to the arboretum, and the car park surfacing can be uneven.  Please keep an eye out for peacocks when parking!

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Vehicle entry to the arboretum is through the double gates off the main road through Nuneham Courtenay (A4074).  If you are driving from Oxford, the arboretum will be on your right hand side just after you pass through the village.  Drive up to the ticket office (the shepherd’s hut on the left hand side) to get a ticket, and then follow the drive round to the car park.

The pedestrian gate is at the back of the car park, near to the meadow area.  You will then have to cross the car park to reach the ticket office.  Please take care as the surface can be uneven. 

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The ticket office is the dark green shepherd’s hut to the side of the main drive.  Please wait outside, and a member of staff will come out to you. 

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The wheelchair accessible toilets are in the Education Centre close to the site entrance.  Go into the building and through the door straight in front of you to the left.  The accessible toilet is then on the left hand side.  Some wheelchair users could find the first doorway a bit narrow. 

 The only doors in the arboretum are in the Education Centre, and these are always held open.

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Some parts of the woodland areas have woodchip paths which are more inaccessible for wheelchair users and those with mobility difficulties.  The softer woodchip can be hard to travel over with wheels, and the paths are not very clearly marked. 

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These are worn paths across the grass for visitors, although they are not very clearly marked.  The ground is uneven, but the grass is quite short, so it might be possible to use some of them with a wheelchair if you are careful.  The grass paths across the meadow are harder work due to the slope of the site and the longer grass.  Earth paths across the parkland are largely quite steep, and the ground is more soft.

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The barn is surrounded by packed earth and woodchip, and is sometimes used for educational visits. It has moveable chairs, but the floor is a bit uneven. The charcoal burner is accessible via. a short detour from the wheelchair footpath, and is mostly surrounded by log piles.

As always, please use your discretion when deciding which parts of the site to tackle. All of it is well worth a look, but bear in mind that it is a natural environment, and so access is not always straightforward!

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