Great Autumn Walks: Nothing beats a glorious British forest walk (plus a cozy overnight stay). Here’s our pick of the best
Yes, it will be chilly, but don’t let that stop you from taking a fall vacation. The leaves will soon shine in golden and coppery hues, a performance not to be missed.
The Wildlife Trust’s book Wildlife Walks: Get Back To Nature At More Than 475 Of The UK’s Best Wild Places provides what the (quite long) title says.
Here are some of the best for this rewarding time of year for a walk.
WONDERFUL STAFF
Here we show some of the best places in Britain for an autumn walk (file image)
The Roaches on the edge of the Peak District National Park have high cliff faces, wide open moorland and heather covered hills
The Roaches is a beautiful 975 hectare landscape on the edge of the Peak District National Park, popular with climbers and walkers alike.
High rock faces, wide open moorlands and heather covered hills offer beautiful panoramic views. In the less visited northern end there are sheltered forests. Discover the soaring buzzards and grouse.
How long? two o’clock.
How do you get there: Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 8UA (staffs-wildlife.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles from £104 B&B at the charming nearby spa hotel Three Horseshoes (3schoeninn.nl).
COLORFUL WESTLAND
Goblin Combe, in Avon, is home to a beautiful mix of airy grassland above a damp, wooded gorge carved into the limestone by ice age snowmelt.
Autumn gentian and yellow wort bring color to the grasslands, and the forest hides rarities such as moonwort and hazel dormouse, along with masses of fungi in autumn. Note the plain ink caps, oily wax caps, white saddle and lilac hood.
How long? 2-3 hours.
How do you get there: Cleeve Hill Road, Cleeve, Avon, BS49 4PH (avonwildlifetrust.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at the comfortable nearby Congresbury Arms from £88 B&B (congresburyarms.co.uk).
KESTRELS IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE
With over 60 hectares of cliffs, disused quarries, woodlands, salt marshes and the spectacular limestone Wye Gorge, Lancaut in Gloucestershire is an autumn treat. There are approximately 350 plant species, including small-leaved lime trees, rare thrushes, oaks, maples and yew trees. Expect violets, small calamint, red valerian and glossy crane, plus peregrine falcons, ravens and kestrels.
How long? two o’clock.
How do you get there: Lancaut Lane, Gloucestershire, NP16 7JB (Gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles from £76 at the newly renovated Two Rivers Inn in Chepstow (marstonsinns.co.uk).
LONDON SURPRISE
Above is a ruined Victorian folly in Sydenham Hill Wood, a wood where ancient oaks and hornbeams mingle with more recently planted trees
Watching woodpeckers in Sydenham Hill Wood (file image)
Sydenham Hill Wood in South London is part of the largest surviving section of the ancient Great North Wood.
Old oaks and hornbeams mingle with more recently planted trees, tawny owls nest in tree holes, firecrests hop between the branches and stag beetles thrive in the pieces of rotting wood. There are many rare fungi at this time of year. Keep an eye out for woodpeckers.
How long? 1 hour.
How do you get there: Enter via Crescent Wood Road or Dulwich Wood, London, SE26 (wildlondon.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich from £118 (hostelierscollection.nl).
BEAVERS IN CHESHIRE
Nunsmere Hall Hotel (pictured) is a good base for exploring Hatchmere Nature Reserve in Cheshire
The lakes and peatlands in Hatchmere Nature Reserve in Cheshire were formed by glaciers at the end of the last ice age.
The reserve is home to Cheshire’s first pair of beavers after 400 years of local extinction. These incredible mammals create diverse wetlands by digging and damming canals, while the wetlands in turn provide enormous benefits to other wildlife. At dusk you might catch a glimpse.
How long? two o’clock.
How to get there: Delamere Road, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 6NY (cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at Nunsmere Hall Hotel, a country house hotel, from £115 B&B (nunsmere.co.uk).
NOTTS WITH A LOT
Rainworth Heath is one of the last remaining heathlands in Nottinghamshire. It is dotted with peat pools lined with peat moss. Adders can sometimes be seen in holes under gorse bushes.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is restoring heathland, monitoring ferns and grazing Hebridean sheep.
How long? two o’clock.
How to get there: From the village of Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, NG21 0HR (nottinghamshirewildlife.org).
Where to stay: Doubles from £85 at the charming Rainworth Lodge (rainworthlodge.co.uk).
KENTISH SAVAGES
The almost 1,000 year old West Blean and Thornden Woods, in Kent, are home to a number of non-native conifers which are being removed by Wildlife Trusts, who are regenerating the woodland through coppicing: a traditional management technique that is great for sensitive animals in the wild.
How long? two o’clock.
How do you get there: Thornden Wood Road, Kent, CT6 7NZ (kentwildlifetrust.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at the modern Hampton by Hilton Canterbury, five miles south, from £86 (hilton.com).
VIVID WORKS
Expect spectacular colors at Piper’s Hill and Dodderhill Commons in Worcestershire
Piper’s Hill and Dodderhill Commons in Worcestershire have more than 240 veteran trees, several of which are hundreds of years old. These venerable beech, sweet chestnut and oak giants make the reserve come alive in autumn, with spectacular colors sweeping through the forest and mushrooms waiting to catch your eye.
Tits, nuthatches and woodpeckers love the old trees.
How long? 45 minutes.
How do you get there: Near Hanbury on the B4091, Worcestershire, B60 4AS (worcswildlifetrust.co.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at nearby inn The Vernon from £75 (vernonhanbury.co.uk).
RED KITES IN WILTS
Keep an eye out for red kites soaring over Coombe Bissett Down, Wiltshire (above).
If you like to combine your nature walks with local history, then you’ll love Coombe Bissett Down, in Wiltshire. The steep slopes of the Coombe are home to medieval terraces called strip lynchets, where artefacts from the Iron Age and Roman periods have been found. Flocks of linnet and mistle thrush can be seen in the thickets. There will be plenty of red kites flying overhead.
How long? 3 hours.
How do you get there: At Coombe Bissett take the Homington exit then turn right into Pennings Drove (wilshirewildlife.org).
Where to stay: Doubles from £120 B&B at the Saw Mill Hotel on the outskirts of Salisbury, four miles north (oldmillsalisbury.co.uk).
HANTS VIEWS
You might spot kestrels while trekking through St Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve in Hampshire (above)
A dramatic climb up a wooden staircase in St Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve, in Hampshire, reveals breathtaking views over Winchester and the floodplains of Itchen Valley.
At the summit you’ll discover the earthworks of an Iron Age fort, the buried ruins of a Norman chapel and a grove of beech trees where green woodpeckers cluck. Kestrels hunt in the valley below.
How long? 2-3 hours.
How do you get there: Garnier Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 9PA (hiwwt.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles from £148 B&B at the cozy and eclectic Wykeham Arms in Winchester (wykehamarmswinchester.co.uk).
QUIET IN SHROPSHIRE
Rhos Fiddle sits on the border between England and Wales – a heathland hilltop with big skies and is one of the quietest places in Shropshire.
It is an ancient wilderness in the middle of green agricultural meadows. The marshy pools and surrounding wet heathland attract wading birds such as snipe. In the wetter areas, peat moss, cotton grass and peat moss thrive.
How long? 1 hour.
How do you get there: Newcastle-on-Clun, Shropshire, SY7 8QT (shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles from £71 at the traditional White Horse Inn in Clun (whitehorseclun.com).
BEAUTIFUL LIMESTONE
Llanymynech Rocks in Montgomeryshire, on the border between England and Wales, is a spectacular limestone outcrop.
From the early 19th century until the end of the First World War, the site was a quarry; Since then, nature has crept in. Jackdaws and peregrine falcons raise their families on the old quarry grounds.
How long? two o’clock.
How do you get there: Underhill Lane, Llanymynech, SY10 9RB (shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at the elegant Penyvoel Hall hotel, half a mile away £121 B&B (penyvoelhall.com).
EAGLES IN EIGG
The Isle of Eigg in Scotland has an abundance of wildlife, including golden eagles, buzzards and ravens
The Isle of Eigg in Scotland is home to an exceptional nature reserve where uncultivated farmland and native forests meet heathlands and raised bogs.
Above the trees, golden eagles, buzzards and ravens patrol their lofty kingdoms. Back on solid ground, cuckoos, whinchats, whitethroats and willow warblers fill the air with heartbreaking song.
How long? From 1-4 hours.
How do you get there: Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry from Mallaig (scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk).
Where to stay: Doubles at the charming Arisaig Hotel on the Isle of Eigg from £178 B&B (arisaighotel.co.uk).