Graceful landscaped parkland with the spires of Stamford in the distance. The park has evolved along with the house over many different generations. The first reference to the gardens or park at Burghley was in 1561 during the initial building phase of the House but very little remains of this first planting other than the large leaved lime on the West Front.

There followed two main phases of park landscaping; the first came with John 5th Earl of Exeter (1678-1700) who engaged the services of George London and Henry Wise of The Brompton Nurseries to lay out avenues of trees in a 'patte d'oie' or goosefoot arrangement. This was in addition to the elaborate formal gardens that the 5th Earl added to the grounds of his newly refurbished house.

Between 1755 and 1779, the 9th Earl (1725-1793) employed Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to landscape the park in the current fashion sweeping away many of the London and Wise avenues as well as the formal gardens. Brown formed the Serpentine Lake or his 'New River' and planted intimate groups of trees on a closely cropped sward and around the perimeter of the park to provide context but also to indulge the new sport of game shooting.

Today the park has a largely 'Capability Brown' feel, with one or two of the London and Wise avenues remaining intact. Most notably, Queen Anne's Avenue which consists of four rows of limes which lead from the South Front up to what is now the A1. Also its mirror image, North Avenue which begins in front of the North Court of the House and runs just short of the Barnack Road.