Bolney brings together a range of interests: wine, footpaths and architectural history. Shape your visit around whether you want to focus on a vineyard tour and tasting, time on the footpaths, or historic architecture. This will help you choose the focus that best suits your travel plans.

Vineyard, Winery and Tasting

Bolney Wine Estate is a working winery and visitor attraction in the West Sussex countryside. The estate includes an 18-acre visitor vineyard. The winery grows, presses and bottles still and sparkling wines on site. It was founded in 1972 by the Pratt family.

Guided tours take you through the vineyards and winery, followed by a tutored tasting of still and sparkling wines. A wine tasting pairs five Bolney wines with selected Sussex cheeses. The Bolney Café & Wine Bar is set among the vineyards. Visitors can park on site for free. Check the latest information about tours, tastings, the café and parking before travelling, so your plans suit the date of your visit.

The experiences offer different emphases: a tour focuses on the vineyard and winery, while a wine tasting pairs the wines with Sussex cheese. Footpaths offer another focus for your stay. You can decide whether a guided wine experience or exploring on foot better suits your interests.

Walking in Bolney

Footpaths lead in all directions from Bolney. The Diamond Jubilee Walk is a designated route along the footpaths within the parish of Bolney. The route leaflet was printed in 2012; check local path conditions before planning to follow the route. The route information does not provide grounds for assuming a walking time or difficulty level.

This gives you two different ways to explore when planning your visit: a guided tour followed by a tasting, or a stay focused on the footpaths. Tour availability and local path conditions are separate practical considerations. You can choose a winery visit based on its programme and check the route separately against current conditions.

Church and Architectural History

St Mary Magdalene was built in the 11th century. Its tower was built in 1536 by John Bolney. It houses a very rare complete ring of eight bells, weighing just over 3 tonnes in total. The church therefore offers a view of two historical layers: the medieval building and the later tower with its exceptional set of bells.

Other buildings have their own architectural character. The Old Mill House is a restored timber-framed building dating from the late 16th century. Wykehurst Park is a large mansion in the style of a French château. These descriptions show different building forms without grouping them into a single period or style.

The historic landscape also includes the two original Bolney Mill Ponds. A watermill stood at the lower of the two ponds throughout the 18th century. Together with the church, tower and mansion, this takes the view beyond winegrowing and footpaths: Bolney also offers specific points of interest for travellers interested in architectural history and the landscape’s former uses.

Whether you choose Bolney for its wine, footpaths or architectural history, each theme offers a different focus for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Walberton, Faygate, East Grinstead, Stedham, Worthing, Albourne, Angmering, Birdham

For the broader travel overview: West Sussex.