Nature's Jewels Wildlife Walk

Leaf colour can be breathtakingly beautiful at this time of year, particularly if the sun comes out to light up the reds of Cherry and Field Maple, the yellows of Ash, Willow, Birch and Hazel and the browns of Sycamore and Horse Chestnut.

Birdlife is changing as summer migrants head south to be replaced by visitors from the north in the form of Redwing and Fieldfare; handsome thrush species escaping the harsh Scandinavian winter. Meadow Pipits move from their summer breeding grounds to winter on undisturbed areas of open grassland. Jays, colourful members of the crow family, can be seen planting acorns in fields and hedge bottoms. Finches flock together to feed on wildflower seeds.

Ivy comes in to its own at this time as a late season nectar source for a range of insect species. The colour and diversity of life on a spray of flowering Ivy in the Autumn sunshine is a spectacle to behold. The flowers are adorned by myriad jewels of the natural world such as hunting Hornets, Common Carder and Ivy bees, Red Admiral and Comma butterflies and a range of stunning hoverfly species, all out to stock up on the last bit of fuel before the cold weather starts to bite. Spiders stalk their insect prey amongst the Ivy leaves.

As weather conditions cool and dampen common edible fungi such as Fairy Ring Champignon, Shaggy Inkcaps and Hedgehog mushrooms can start to appear along with medicinal species such as Artist’s Bracket and Birch Polypore.

We may also stumble across the fascinating Robin’s Pincushion Gall on the bare stems of Dog Rose.

Useful information

All you need is a sturdy pair of boots and a spirit of adventure. 

The guided walk will start at 10:00am and last approximately 2 hours

Tickets cost £25 per person