Time Well Spent

Visit us - Castle, Gardens, Country Park, Local Nature Reserve

Getting to Elvaston

The estate entrance and only car park for visitors arriving in vehicles, is off Borrowash Road between Borrowash Village and Thulston. Just follow the brown tourist signs from either direction and they'll direct you right to us.

Some sat navs direct vehicles off the A6 Derby bypass into Elvaston Castle Country Park via a slip road to Bridlegate Lane, Alvaston. There's no access to the park via this route (nor turning room along its length should you commit to it). The lane is clearly marked off the by-pass with a 'dead-end' highways sign.

Your sat nav may direct you into the estate by a sealed bridle path off Borrowash Road, which also leads to Elvaston Cricket Club's grounds. This access route is for authorised vehicles only, with no visitor parking permitted.

Please see the Park Location leaflet in the Maps and Leaflets section further down this page.

Further information about daily site opening hours and accessibility is available on the Derbyshire County Council Elvaston Facebook page.

Park Entry

Entry to the park on foot is free, with parking charges in place at our on-site car park.

Information panels, which include site maps, are located:

within the main car park (one close to the lakeside path entrance and another on the exterior wall of the public toilets block)
underneath the arch within the central courtyards
within the information centre and shop
in the castle entrance corridor
at the end of South Avenue opposite the bus stop
at the entrance to the park via Alvaston Lane and footbridge

Site and Nature reserve leaflets are attached in the Maps and Leaflets section further down this page. Or pick up a free site leaflet and map from our information centre and shop.

Castle entry is available on select weekends throughout the year - please see our Events page for more details.

Public Transport

There are no bus services that stop directly outside the main entrance to the park.

However, bus 73 (Arriva) and the Skylink Derby (TrentBarton) both stop by Elvaston Castle Gates in Thulston.

You can find out the most suitable bus and rail services from:

Cark Parking

You can pay with 'Pay by Phone'

There are also 5 pay and display machines in the public car park off Borrowash Road:

Three accept coin, card and contactless payments:

on entry, next to the public toilets and eagle sculpture
next to the children's play area
next to the site information board (at the entry point to the lakeside walk, near the ice cream van)

Two accept card only:

on entry to the showground
next to the coach and horse-box parking area

Season Tickets

A single season ticket can be registered to 2 vehicles, and costs £120 for the year. This allows you to visit any of our listed countryside sites using either car (but not both at the same time) providing it's clearly displayed on your dashboard.

If you'd like to purchase a pass or change or add a vehicle to your existing pass, please visit us at our shop. You can pay by cash, card, or cheque between Friday to Monday from 10.30am to 4pm.

Season tickets can also be purchased at the other Derbyshire countryside sites.

We'd strongly advise against parking in the main public car park without your pass on display. We can arrange for alternative parking while your pass is being amended or reissued.