Day 31 Skylarks and adder's tongues...

If you go down to the woods today ........... you might just hear the wonderful song of a skylark, particularly if you are at Lower Woods in South Gloucestershire. Situated next to Inglestone Common with it's wonderful open grasslands, this area combines some very special habitats in a very small space. It's not just skylarks you may hear, but also chiff chaffs, song thrushes, willow warblers and blackcaps. Follow the links to the excellent RSPB site where you can hear the call of all these birds. If you have a smart phone, there's also a very good app called Birds UK that you can download which will help you to identify birds and their calls when you're out and about.

We recently took a class of students from Hawkesbury Upton primary school on an adventure here to discover the delights of the Common. Pupils learnt about the history of the common, identified some of the wildflowers, made tiny nature collages and learnt some native bird song, you can find some of the activities and games we played here.

Inglestone Common is one of only two places in the whole country where you can find the rare Adder's-tongue spearwort plant which grows on the edge of the seasonal pond.It is part of the buttercup family and particularly favours ponds that dry out and are trampled by livestock around the edge. The other known site is also in Gloucestershire.

Lower woods is also a lovely place to explore but bring your wellies as the woodlands rise out of damp, clay soil so can get very muddy, perfect for spotting animal tracks and trails. See if you can find deer, badger or hedgehog tracks.

Day 21 Folly Farm Centre

For a full wildlife safari, take a trip to the Chew Valley for some stunning landscapes and wonderful walks. Start off at Chew Valley lake where you can follow the nature trails around the water's edge, full leaflets are available to download for both the Grebe trail and the Bittern trail. Walk through the wildflower meadows and shady woodlands to the bird hide and get a spectacular view across the water to Denny island where you can use our spotter sheet to look for summer waders. Then refuel in the cafe at the car park before heading off to explore the fantastic nature reserve at Folly farm. 

Well recommended is a circular walk through the woodlands up to Round Hill for spectacular views over the Chew Valley and back through the wildflower meadows. Discover the historic landscape of the ferme ornée with it's restored cascades and, later on, find the badger watching spot on the Access for All trail and wait for the badgers to come out foraging at dusk. A truly magical end to the day.