Trails at Queenswood

The Gruffalo Trail features five, larger-than-life sculptures of characters from the ever-popular books created by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler: Mouse, Fox, Snake, Owl and the Gruffalo. An activity pack with added extras to complete along the trail and do at home is available from the Queenswood gift shop.

• The trail is open all year-round.
• The trail is aimed predominantly at children aged 2 to 6 years but is great fun for all the family.
• The trail is less than 1.5 km long so manageable for little legs.
• The trail is suitable for pushchairs and buggies.

We are currently offering a range of Quiz Trails, available from the Visitor Centre. The answers to all the Quiz questions can be found along the trail and prizes are available for completed quizzes!

The Deer Trail skirts around the edge of the arboretum, taking you through the Redwood Grove and beech plantation which is carpeted with bluebells in spring and also explores much of the north and south woods.

This route includes several very steep sections of path that may be muddy and quite slippery in wet weather and a short section along the private road.

The Badger Trail is an easy walk around the well-surfaced paths of the arboretum and allows you to experience:

• Lime Avenue
• The Autumn Garden
• Cottrell’s Folly
• Oak Avenue

• The Viewpoint
• The Summer Garden
• Sovereign Walk

It takes you past flowering cherries in the spring and some exotic conifers as well as the Redwood Grove.

The Badger Trail does follow the gentle uphill slope of Lime Avenue at the start (which may be preferable to the short steep slope from the viewpoint if you followed the route in reverse).

Alternatively, for a very gentle walk avoiding a steep slope, you could follow the Badger Trail along Sovereign Walk to the viewpoint and return the same way.

As the colour of the leaves starts to change why not download and follow the Early Autumn Tree Trail?

Please note that different trees change colour at different rates each year, but the trees listed in the leaflet below are usually the first to start.

Follow the Late Autumn Tree Trail later in the season for details of the most spectacular species at Queenswood Arboretum.

Please note not all trees will display in exactly the same way each year, but the trees listed in the leaflet below are usually the first to start.

The trail begins in the red phone box at the Queenswood Visitor Centre before taking visitors on a journey through the Arboretum.

At each audio point visitors will find a wind-up audio device recessed into a beautiful oak monolith. Each audio device has been programmed with eight tracks of including poetry, people’s stories of their visits to Queenswood, historical information about the site, bird song and a dedicated children’s trail.

The Visitor Centre can provide a map of the trail.

This trail will lead you around Queenswood Arboretum to find nine of Queenswood’s 148 Champion trees