Lodges at Ashling Park
Lodges among the vines near Chichester, from one bedroom for two. Harvest, the one-bedroom lodge, is the one listed on Expedia.
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Vineyard guide · West Ashling, near Chichester
Visiting Ashling Park Estate
Ashling Park is a family-run vineyard estate at West Ashling near Chichester, inside the South Downs National Park, making sparkling wine, a Pinot Noir red and a gin from its own grapes. It has a café open every day, a restaurant, tours from Thursday to Sunday, a gin school and five lodges.
Ashling Park at a glance
| Founded | Estate dates back to 1822, vineyard planted in the late 2010s |
|---|---|
| Known for | Sparkling wine, especially the Cuvée and Sparkling Rosé, and a gin made from estate Pinot Noir |
| Grapes | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with a little Bacchus |
| Open | Café daily, 9am to 3pm weekdays and 9am to 4pm at weekends; shop daily, 9am to 5pm |
| Booking | Book tours, the gin school and cocktail classes online; the café needs no booking |
| Tours from | £25 |
| Food | Vineyard Café daily, and the Vineyard Restaurant for lunch Thursday to Sunday and dinner Thursday to Saturday |
| Dogs | Welcome in the Vineyard Café |
| Children | No under-18s on tours, policy elsewhere not stated |
| Stay | Five one- and two-bedroom lodges among the vines, one designed to be fully accessible |
| By train | No station details given on the estate’s site |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in October 2026.
About Ashling Park
Ashling Park is an estate dating back to 1822 at West Ashling, a few miles west of Chichester and about a mile from the coast, inside the South Downs National Park. It is run by the Gardner family, with Gail Gardner as managing director, and the family had lived on the site for around 20 years before turning part of it into a vineyard. Because the site lies in the National Park, planning took about four years, including surveys of the local newts and birds.
The estate covers 50 acres, with around 10 acres of vines at Ashling Park itself on loam over chalk in a sheltered position, and a further vineyard leased at Petworth. The grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with some Bacchus. There is no winery on site: the sparkling wines have been made at Wiston Estate by Dermot Sugrue, using traditional methods with up to six years on the lees. Pinot Noir from the estate is also distilled into the Ashling Park gin.
The wines did well quickly at the WineGB Awards. In 2020 Ashling Park won Best Classic Cuvée NV and Best Sparkling Rosé, and was joint winner for the South East. Its Rosé NV won Best Sparkling Rosé again in 2022, and in 2024 its Selection Pinot Noir 2022 won Best Red Pinot Noir. The five lodges were designed and built by Will Hardie, and are named after stages of the vine’s year, such as Budburst, Flowering and Veraison.
The wines
The sparkling range includes the Ashling Park Cuvée, Sparkling Rosé and Blanc de Blancs, plus a Sparkling Red. Still wines include a Chardonnay, Bacchus, a still rosé, a Pinot Noir and the award-winning Estate Selection Pinot Noir. The Cuvée and Sparkling Rosé are the wines that have won the most trophies, and the 2022 Selection Pinot Noir is worth trying if you want an English red. The estate also makes a gin distilled from its own Pinot Noir grapes. Where to buy them.
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Tours and tastings at Ashling Park
The Vineyard Café opens every day, 9am to 3pm on weekdays and 9am to 4pm at weekends, with no booking needed. It serves cakes, soup, toasties, sausage rolls, quiches and charcuterie boards with local cheeses, plus coffee and Ashling Park wine, and dogs are welcome. Upstairs, reached by a lift, the Vineyard Restaurant serves lunch from Thursday to Sunday, 12pm to 3pm with last orders at 2.45pm, and dinner from Thursday to Saturday from 6pm, with a balcony over the vines and meat from a farm less than a mile away. Sunday lunch always has a choice of two roasts, and booking is recommended at weekends. The wine shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Parking is free, with disabled bays close to the entrance and level access to reception, the tasting room and restaurant, and there are accessible toilets.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineyard Tour and Tasting A tour of the estate and vineyard, then five tastings: a still wine, the trophy-winning Cuvée and Sparkling Rosé, the Blanc de Blancs and a splash of the Pinot Noir gin. Strictly no under-18s, and an electric buggy can be arranged in advance for those who find the uneven ground difficult. | £25 per person | About 90 minutes | Thursday to Sunday |
| Gin Making Experience A hands-on session at the Gin School, choosing from 24 botanicals and distilling your own recipe on a mini copper still. It includes a G&T on arrival and another during the session, and you take home two 50cl bottles of your gin with personalised labels. | £160 per still, which takes up to two people (£80 per person) | Not stated | Book online for available dates |
| Cocktail Making Class A mixologist shows you how to make a French 75, an Espresso Martini and a Dark and Stormy. | £80 per couple | About 1 hour | Saturdays at 5pm |
| Xmas Shopping Event Carol singers, fires and a welcome hot chocolate with a splash of rum, with 10% off purchases on the night (excluding money vouchers). | Free, no booking needed | From 4pm | Saturday 5 December 2026 |
| Burns Night Supper A ticketed Burns Night supper at the estate. | Not stated | From 6.30pm | Sunday 24 January 2027 |
Book these on the Ashling Park website.
Where to stay
Prices are often the same either way, so compare the booking site with booking direct.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Workshop
Christmas wreath workshop
Make your own Christmas wreath with a glass of the estate’s sparkling wine. Two of the three sessions are already full.
Friday 27 November (6pm, full), Wednesday 2 December (11am) and Friday 4 December 2026 (6pm, full) · 6pm or 11am · Book ahead
Christmas
Christmas shopping evening
An evening of Christmas shopping with 10% off purchases, carol singers, fires and a free welcome hot chocolate with a splash of rum.
Saturday 5 December 2026 · From 4pm · Free entry · Drop in
Food and wine
Burns Night supper
A Burns Night supper at the estate. Tickets are sold through the events page.
Sunday 24 January 2027 · 6.30pm · Book ahead
Buy Ashling Park wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
Getting there
By car, Ashling Park is at West Ashling, just west of Chichester, about 50 miles from London, around an hour from Heathrow and Gatwick and 20 minutes from Portsmouth. Parking is free and there are EV chargers, with secure overnight parking for lodge guests. The estate’s site does not give train or bus details.
Make a day of it
Chichester, with its cathedral, is a short drive east, and the coast is about a mile away, with Chichester Harbour and Bosham close by. The South Downs rise to the north. For more Sussex wine, Wiston Estate, where Ashling Park’s sparkling wine has been made, is further east below the Downs near Washington.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Sussex directory. Our other Sussex vineyard guides: Rathfinny, Court Garden, Bolney, Wiston, Nyetimber, Henners, Artelium, Tinwood, Sedlescombe Organic, Roebuck.
Questions people ask
How much is a tour at Ashling Park?
The Vineyard Tour and Tasting is £25 per person, lasts about 90 minutes and includes five tastings, among them the trophy-winning Cuvée and Sparkling Rosé and a splash of the Pinot Noir gin. Tours run Thursday to Sunday.
Do you need to book at Ashling Park?
Book tours, the gin school and cocktail classes online. The Vineyard Café takes no bookings, and the restaurant welcomes drop-ins but recommends booking, especially at weekends.
Can children go on the Ashling Park tour?
No. There are strictly no under-18s on tours, and proof of age may be asked for.
Is Ashling Park dog friendly?
Dogs are welcome in the Vineyard Café. The site does not say whether dogs can join tours or stay in the lodges, so ask when booking.
Can you stay at Ashling Park?
Yes, in one of five one- or two-bedroom lodges among the vines, with roll-top baths, log burners, kitchenettes and south-facing terraces. Veraison is the lodge with accessibility features.
What is the Ashling Park gin school?
A hands-on session where you pick from 24 botanicals and distil your own gin on a mini copper still. It costs £160 per still, which takes up to two people, and you take home two 50cl bottles.