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Ashton Court Estate
Estate (parks & outdoor events) 0117 963 9176 / cheri.seddon@bristol.gov.uk
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ashtoncourtestate
Mansion (catering & indoor events) 0117 963 3438 / ashtoncourt@sodexho-uk.com
This is an historic estate with mixed woodland, including conifers and broadleaved woodland, ancient trees, wood pasture, deer parks, open parkland and Ashton Court Mansion. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (for its veteran/ancient trees), an Historic Landscape and Site of Nature Conservation Interest. It is owned by Bristol City Council.
The Estate is currently undergoing extensive improvement works to its buildings, woodland boundaries and gardens. This work will continue over the next few years as part of a Heritage Lottery funded restoration project.
 Access
There is a good network of hard surfaced and un-surfaced paths and plenty of free parking.
How to get there...
Positioned to the West edge of Bristol’s City Centre, the estate can be accessed from the A369 Clanage Road, through Clifton Lodge, off the A369 at Abbots Leigh Road or from the B3128 near Long Ashton, (OS Explorer 155, grid reference ST 555 720).
Ashton Court Heritage Site
Everyone has heard about the Amazon Rainforest, the largest tropical jungle in the world, and which mostly occupies the country of Brazil throughout the South American continent. But what about adding a visit to the Atlantic Forest to your Brazil travel packages?
It's not surprising that in a country of Brazil's size that there are multiple major forests to speak of. The Atlantic Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is situated in the northeast and extends southward along the Atlantic Ocean coast into northeastern Argentina and even southwestern Paraguay. Like the Amazon, it is humid and wet, but in the Atlantic Forest, the average temperature is considerably lower, a feature that helps to contribute to its extensive wildlife diversity. As well, this forest is unique in that it spreads over a large range of elevations, resulting in a number of smaller microclimate forests along the way. In fact, it is actually a conglomeration of multiple types of forest: low regions focused on sand dunes, coastal bits with many evergreens, inland deciduous portions where the leaves fall when the weather gets colder, shrubby savannas at high altitudes, and more. The area it covered was once much larger, but unfortunately, due to deforestation such as illegal logging, land conversion for agricultural and pastoral activities, and the expansion of urban human centers, an estimated more than 80-95% of the original forest has been cleared to the current existence today. All of this destruction makes it the second most threatened biome in the world after Madagascar off the western coast of Africa.
Still, it is a fantastic place to visit to learn more and get intimate with nature. It is easily accessible from cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. As well, it is home to over 2,200 species of animals, and more than 20,000 types of plants (including 458 tree species), of which many are especially endemic to the region. The canopies are rich with life, and contain biologically fascinating subculture of jungle nature. Many of the species are endangered, so one will find a number of conservation centers and projects who focus on protecting these creatures so they survive into the future.
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