Where to visit as a family

The top spot to take children this autumn is Queenswood, a place where children can discover the joy and freedom of being in nature. There’s over a hundred acres of native woodland for families to explore and at this time of year the autumn colours in the arboretum will be stunning. The large woodland playground is always a hit as is the Gruffalo Trail aimed at children aged 2 to 6 years. The team at Queenswood run a range of engaging activities. Choose from monthly wildlife watch clubs, drop-in art sessions plus an adventure club where children build and light fires for cooking, learn bush craft skills, build a den and other nature-based activities. Be sure to check what events are planned for half term.

The site has a picnic area, popular family-run café, visitor centre, shop and toilets.

Visiting Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum 

Bodenham Lake is a popular place for families to enjoy a walk by the lake in what is the largest area of open water in Herefordshire. See who can be the first to spot some of the many different wetland birds that frequent the lake. There’s the elegant, long-legged little and great white egret, their white plumage stands them out from the crowd. Many different species of duck are found here, some disappear under water to feed, others feed on the surface, often be seen upending, with their bums in the air. The hides are a great place to spot kingfishers, glimpsed as a sudden flash of bright blue as it dives to catch fish. Although otters are very secretive creatures, Bodenham Lake is a good place to spot them even in daylight as a family group has made the lake their home.

There’s an orchard for picnicking and no doubt the fieldfares will be there too feasting on the fallen fruit making their harsh 'chack-chack' calls.

Visiting Bodenham Lake

Situated high above the River Wye near Symonds Yat, King Arthur’s Cave is a fun place for children to explore. There are two interconnected entrances leading to two main chambers, home to horseshoe bats. Excavations have uncovered bones from woolly mammoth, brown bears and lion plus flint tools indicating man lived here at some point between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago. While unlikely King Arthur ever visited, you can find King Alfred’s cakes, a fungus that forms strange black balls on ash and beech wood. There’s also the slimy porcelain fungus and the rare devil’s bolete, so called because it’s quite poisonous.

Visiting Arthur's Cave

Looking rather other-worldly with their twisted limbs and exposed roots is an avenue of ancient yews in Nupend Wood. Few plants can survive under this dense canopy but the fallen berries attract flocks of wintering fieldfares and redwings to feed. From here, it’s a short walk to Lea & Paget’s Wood where groups of fallow deer are often glimpsed and many different fungi seen – staghorn, common bonnet, scarlet waxcap and King Alfred’s cakes.

Visiting Nupend Wood

This pretty stream flows through the heart of Hereford, providing an important natural space for us all to enjoy. The stream, often tree lined, has a wide grassy plain next to with a path that follows this blue ribbon from near Whitecross school to near Plough Lane. Thanks to the hard work by the trust’s City branch over the last six years cleaning up and improving the brook, it’s now a valuable refuge for wildlife. Follow Nic Howes’ “Exploring the landscape of Hereford City” guide as he takes you along the Yazor discovering nature as you walk its banks.

Visiting Yazor Brook