Where to see autumn colour

In the Arboretum at Queenswood you’ll see a spectacular kaleidoscope of colour with zingy yellows and bright reds glowing from October to November. Featuring tree species from around the world, autumn colour starts with maples, American first and then Maples from the Caucasus and Asia including our large collection of Japanese Maples, then berry-bearing Rowans and finally exotic Oaks.

Grab an Autumn Tree Trail leaflet from the visitor centre to help identify your favourites.  Children will love roaming the woods and exploring the adventure playground, followed by a hot chocolate in the cafe.

Visiting Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum

Another popular spot just down the road is Bodenham Lake where the stunning autumn colours from native trees growing on slopes nearby are reflected on the water. On a sunny day, it’s an uplifting sight, so too is seeing otters playing and feeding in the lake. Once elusive, the otters are now more frequently spotted as a family group has made the lake their home, however there’s always an element of luck in seeing one. The nature reserve is particularly good for the long-legged and elegant heron and egret with five species recorded in the last year or two.

Visiting Bodenham Lake

Autumn brings the countryside alive and Wessington Pasture near Woolhope, a native broad-leaved woodland with pasture areas, is a delight to visit this time of year. The vibrant colours come from the limes, spindle, sweet briar, oak and stunning ancient hazel trees at the top of the slope. Enjoy following the paths that wind their way through the woodland, with luck you’ll see fallow deer and catch a glimpse of nuthatch and tree creeper, birds that climb up tree trunks looking for insects and spider.

Visiting Wessington Pasture

With fine views over Ross-on-Wye, Merrivale Wood is an outlier of a much larger area of ancient woodland but because it’s situated on a steep rocky slope, it survived where other areas of woodland nearby hasn’t. The wide variety of tree species in a rich mosaic of habitats provide red, amber and yellow colours of autumn. There’s also a good range of fungi to be seen including fly agaric, the classic fairy tale toadstool – a red cap with white spots.

Visiting Merrivale Wood

Close to West Malvern, this ancient woodland is traditional managed with coppicing of the hazel. Here, there’s also beech, rowan, wild cherry and field maple providing a stunning display of autumnal colour while the red and purple berries and fruits of yew, holly, hawthorn, damson and spindle are food for wildlife as they build up reserves to last the long cold winter.

Visiting Littley Coppice