Things to do · Burton Dassett
Burton Dassett Hills Country Park
A hundred acres of open hilltop in south Warwickshire with wide views, old quarry workings and a beacon, plus the medieval church of All Saints. A country park since 1971. Car parking £3.50 a day.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Walker-friendly
A big hill, a flask and a view, for £3.50. It suits children and dogs who need to run, and kite flying is on the list. The council lists no café, the hills have no surfaced paths and the toilets close at 3pm, so come prepared.
- Good: Free-roaming open hills, with waymarked walks and picnic benches
- Good: Fox Covert has a surfaced footpath
- Good: Motorcycles park free
- Worth knowing: No surfaced routes across the hills
- Worth knowing: Toilets open only 9am to 3pm
- Worth knowing: Display a ticket or permit, or risk a penalty charge; no barbecues or hobby drones
About
Burton Dassett Hills Country Park is 100 acres of open hilltop in south Warwickshire, north of Edgehill and Banbury. Warwickshire County Council has run it as a country park since 1971. The humps and hollows are old quarries, and the round tower on top is the beacon.
The hills are free roaming, with no surfaced routes, so you can walk where you like, in suitable shoes. Waymarked walks and picnic benches are scattered around, including near the beacon car park. Fox Covert, a small wood, has a surfaced path. The council lists kite and model glider flying and geocaching. Dogs should be on leads or under close control, and the council asks you to respect signs in areas they are not allowed.
All Saints Church, the twelfth-century church of the shrunken medieval village of Burton Dassett, is close by. Our guide to the village has more on it.
Visiting
Parking is pay on site at £3.50 a day for a car, £20 for a coach and free for a motorcycle, and you must display a ticket. Annual permits are £42 in 2026, or £33 at the disabled rate, with a 20% discount for Blue Badge holders. Tickets and permits are only valid during park opening hours, but the council's page does not state those, so plan on daylight.
The toilets are open from 9am to 3pm, reached by a tarmac path opposite the disabled parking bays on the road to the beacon, with a ramp to the accessible toilet. Barbecues, fires and fireworks are not allowed, but picnics are. Hobby drones, e-scooters, quads and driving on the hills are banned too. The council lists no café, so bring food and drink.
Upton House is the obvious other half of the day, and the Edgehill battlefield lies about four miles to the south west, below Edge Hill.
Opening hours and season
The council's page gives no gate hours, and says tickets are valid only during park opening hours. Toilets 9am to 3pm.
Facilities
- Car parksDay tickets on site, including the beacon car park
- Toilets9am to 3pm; accessible, with a ramp, opposite the disabled bays
- DogsOn leads or under close control; waste bins on site
- Mobility scootersAllowed on the hills
The details
- Time to allow
- An hour or two; longer with a picnic or a kite
- Features
- Picnic area · Views · Parking
- History
- Country park since 1971
- Parking
- Pay on site: cars £3.50 a day, coaches £20, motorcycles free. Annual permit £42, disabled rate £33, for permits bought 6 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Tickets must be displayed.
Photos
The hills in summer, the Beacon on the skyline 
Old quarry workings from the air 
All Saints Church, Burton Dassett 
An archive photograph of the beacon
Location
Places to stay nearby
-
The Castle at Edgehill
Pubs · Edgehill and Radway
A pub and restaurant in the castellated 18th-century tower on top of Edgehill, above the 1642 battlefield, with Hook Norton ales, large gardens, five en-suite rooms and a gin school in the tower.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Lost Pug, Northend 0.7 km away
- Farnborough Hall 4.3 km away
- The National Herb Centre, Warmington 5.1 km away
- The Castle at Edgehill 5.1 km away
Sights nearby
-
Edge Hill viewpoint
Sight · Viewpoint · Edgehill and Radway
The long view from the top of Edge Hill, north-west of Banbury, across the plain where the Battle of Edgehill was fought in 1642. There is no signed viewpoint: the ridge road, the footpaths and the garden of a 1740s sham castle are how you see it.
-
Edgehill battlefield
Sight · Monument · Edgehill and Radway
The first pitched battle of the English Civil War was fought below Edge Hill on 23 October 1642. Most of the field is now closed Ministry of Defence land, so you see it from the ridge and from a roadside memorial stone. Registered by Historic England.