We are very lucky to be in such a breathtaking environment, surrounded by endless nature and lots of different wildlife. We have created this fun nature trail for all our happy glampers to enjoy! As a part of this please collect our nature trail activity sheet at The Hub for all ages to explore and discover all the beautiful features of our site.
Features of our Nature Trail
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Some of the animals that you might be able to spot...
Brown Hairstreak Butterfly
How to identify – The female butterflies have large orange patches of each forewing, and the underwings are a distinctive orange with two white streaks across them.
Fun Fact – The female butterflies will only lay eggs on a blackthorn hedge!
Bees
How to Identify – The common Honeybee has a black and gold striped back. The queen has a much larger and longer body compared to the rest of the hive.
Fun Fact – There are more than 250 bee species in the UK!
Beetles
How to Identify – Beetles come in many different shapes, sizes, and colours but all beetles have tough shelled bodies, and they always have six legs and four wings.
Fun Fact – Beetles have four eyes!
Flies
How to identify – A common housefly has three eyes, a pair of short antennae and six legs. They have a small brown hairy body with almost transparent wings.
Fun Fact – They can taste with their feet!
Dragonflies
How to identify – The common darter dragonflies are bright red if they are male, and golden brown if they are female. They have four wings and a long thin body.
Fun fact – Dragonflies were one of the first types of insects to appear on the planet over 300 million years ago, that’s before the dinosaurs!
Spiders
How to identify – Spiders come in a range of sizes, but they all have eight legs and eight eyes.
Fun fact – Some spiders eat their own web when they are ready to move house!
Bat
How to identify – Bats come in several colours, including black, brown, red, tan and grey. They have short snouts; large ears and their body is covered in fur. Their wings can be almost triple the length of their body!
Fun Fact – Bats are nocturnal, so they are awake at night and are sleeping during the day.
Hedgehog
How to identify - Hedgehogs are covered in spikey quills that are usually brown with white tips. The rest of the body is covered in coarse hair, and they have a little black nose.
Fun fact – Hedgehogs have between 5000 and 7000 quills!
Hazel Dormouse
How to identify – Their body is only 6-9cm long and a tail of similar length. They have soft golden-brown fur and big black eyes.
Fun fact – The Hazel Dormouse is named after their love of hazelnuts!
Rabbit
How to identify – Rabbits are small and fluffy creatures with long ears and short tails. They come in all different colours, and they have large hind legs.
Fun fact – A rabbit’s teeth never stop growing!
Moles
How to identify – Moles have a rounded body, velvety black fur, spade shaped front claws, a furry tail, small eyes and a pink pointed snout.
Fun fact – Moles cannot see very well but they have an amazing sense of smell!
Red Kite
How to identify – Red Kites have a rusty reddish-brown body with a pale grey head. They are patterned with dark streaks, and they have a yellow beak.
Fun fact – The scientific name for red kites is ‘Milvus Milvus.’
Swift
How to Identify – Swifts are dark brown all over and they have a small pale patch on their throat. Their wings are curved so they sometimes look like boomerangs in the air.
Fun fact – A group of swifts is called a ‘scream’ as you will often hear them before you see them.
Buzzard
How to identify – They are large birds with broad rounded wings and a short tail. They are usually brown with some white details under their wings.
Fun fact – Buzzards live in almost every part of the world!
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Some of the Plants and Flowers that you might be able to spot...
Blackthorn
How to identify – Blackthorns bark is very dark with spiky thorns. When in blossom the flowers are small and white, and after the fruits look very similar to blueberries, but they are called ‘sloes’
Fun fact – Blackthorn trees can grow to be 7 Metres tall!
Nettles
How to identify – Nettles are a vibrant green with the look of hairs on its stem. The leaves have jagged edges.
Fun fact – Nettles are edible, and make for great soup!
Cleavers
How to identify – Cleavers are covered in tiny hooks, and they are sticky! They also usually have tiny star shaped white flowers.
Fun fact – Cleavers are often used in different medicines!
Daisies
How to identify – Daisies are small flowers, and they have a yellow centre and long thin petals surrounding it.
Fun fact – There are over 23,000 different species of daisies!
Herb-Robert
How to identify – The flowers are bright pink, and star shaped with five petals. They also have reddish stems, and the leaves can be tinged with red.
Fun fact – Herb-Robert when rubbed on the skin can act as a mosquito repellent!
Ash Tree
How to identify – Ash trees have diamond shaped bark ridges, these get more defined, the older the tree gets. The leaves have 5-9 leaflets that grow directly opposite to each other.
Fun Fact – In winter, the leaf buds turn black. They have been known to look like little boxing gloves!
Hawthorne
How to identify – Hawthorn has a white flower with 5 petals and the tips of the petals can look pinkish at times.
Fun Fact – When the flowers appear in May, the hawthorn is given a different name: Maythorn.
Spanish Bluebell
How to identify – Spanish Bluebells have broad leaves, pale blue conical-bell flowers with spreading open tips and the flowers are found all around the stem.
Fun Fact – These flowers are one of the few flowers in nature that have no specific scent.
Common Bluebell
How to identify – Common bluebells have a distinctive sweet scent and a deep violet blue colour. They have narrow tubular bell flowers with tips that curl back.
Fun Fact – Ants help to spread bluebell seeds!
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