The village of Stanton Fitzwarren is sign-posted off the main A361 Swindon to Highworth road. The park entrance can be found 500 metres before the village, on the left-hand side.
Stanton Park is Swindon Borough Council’s latest addition to the town’s vast array of parks and open spaces. For many people the park provides a sense of wilderness, tranquility and exploration. The long-term plan for the site is to protect and enhance the wildlife while developing the area as a country park and managing the meadows in a traditional way. Stanton’s rich history is reflected with the evidence of a Roman Villa from around 200BC, (although there are no visible remains today), and the lost Swindon to Highworth railway.
The ‘Manor of Stantone’ was recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086. In 1995 the house became a private hotel, and Swindon Borough Council purchased the 74-hectare grounds with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 1996.
The park was officially opened in 2000, and has gradually evolved from a medieval estate, a landscaped parkland in the nineteenth century,through to encompassing a Local Nature Reserve in the new millennium.
The park provides an exceptionally wide range of habitats such as remnants of ancient woodland, hedgerows, wildflower meadows, wetlands, a lake, streams and a series of recently restored ponds. There are nearly 500 species of fungi found at Stanton Park, which makes it an extremely special site just for this alone.
These are home to a correspondingly large variety of life including birds of prey, wildfowl, amphibians, invertebrates and large mammals (including roe-deer and badgers). At night, owls, bats and moths may be heard or seen
The working landscape is designed to please the eye, with grassland punctuated by a mixture of mature, specimen hardwood trees.
Swindon Services Ranger Team manages the park with the help of the Volunteer Rangers and other interested groups. Karl Curtis, the Biodiversity Ranger, is taking the lead in the overall management of the site. He undertakes practical habitat management, leads volunteer working parties and organises educational events so that the park is properly kept and used for everyone’s safe recreation.
At present, Karl is restoring the meadow grassland as a working landscape and, more importantly, using the process to enrich and widen the plant species to conserve and encourage wildlife. Using such sensitive control and grazing strategies based on scientific observations, we shall achieve our aim of creating meadows rich in wildflowers, for butterflies and insects.
There are a number of surfaced paths through and around the park which are suitable for wheelchair users. These offer views of all the park's greatest assets: its woodland, parkland, meadows and lakes.
There is a large car park and information point, but toilet and café facilities are not available.
A leaflet describing the site and its history is available from the Information Centre in Regents Street, Swindon and from Lydiard and Coate Water Country Park Ranger Centres. We warmly welcome first-time visitors and hope that those who have already been here return. We do ask in the interest of safety and respect for the wildlife, that dogs are kept under control near and around grazing livestock.
Stanton Park is one of a number of sites managed by Swindon Services Rangers Team
A large area within Stanton Park is now recognised as a Local Nature Reserve for more information please click on the link below
If you would like to become involved in helping to preserve this site and other habitats within Swindon please click onto the following link.
For information on 'Nature for All' events organised by the Rangers either click on the following link or contact us at the address below
For further information please contact us:
Ranger Team
Coate Water County Park
Marlborough Road
Swindon
SN3 6AA
Ranger Office Tel: 01793 490150
Swindon Borough Ranger Team, caring for your parks and open spaces
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