| Hardwick Park is part of the original deer park of Hardwick Hall. The park is open all year round and is very popular for the three waymarked circular walks around the park. There is an information centre which has exhibitions on Summer Sundays. |
 |
 |
Millers Pond was dug out during the 17th century as part of the water
system powering the Stainsby Mill, a mile downstream.
The pond is an important landscape feature as well as a refuge for wildlife. There is an Ice House that now looks like a grassy mound, but in the 18th century was a store for ice, cut from the pond in the winter and used in the kitchens in summer. |
| The Great pond was built during the seventeenth century partly to store
water, partly for fish and partly to attract ducks. There is a duck decoy that lured wild ducks to the island where they were captured for food. The sandstone from the quarry in the park is used in the restoration of Hardwick Hall. |
 |
 |
The Row Ponds are a series of ponds dug out 400 years ago to provide a
source of fish for the estate. They are now let to a local fishing club. There are Turkey Oak trees grouped in pairs along the Rowthorne Drive and are said to resemble platoons of soldiers. |
The parkland is home to hedgehogs, kingfishers, water voles, bats, woodpeckers, dragonflies, stoats, weasels, kestrels, roe deer, grass snakes, grey wagtails, buzzards, butterflies and much more. |
|
