Our Best Nature Reserves To Visit In Autumn

We've compiled a list of nature reserves to visit this Autumn, by asking our Nature Reserves Team which ones are their favourite. With a mix of reserves for walking or wildlife spotting, there is a place for everyone during this cosy season.

barn owl flying across field at clowes wood

Emily Lingard

Clowes Wood & New Fallings Coppice

45 hectares | Solihull | Funky fungi & over 50 bird species

A ancient woodland with a mix of trees, shrubs, streams, pond, a small meadow and a precious remnant of heathland. Clowes Wood is a piece of history as it was the first reserve owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, acquired thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor in 1974.

Clowes Wood has probably been wooded since the last ice age, though it was almost cleared of trees in the early 1900s. It is cut through by the Birmingham to Stratford railway and habitats found here today include heathland, woodland, and wet meadow.

It’s a perfect reserve to visit in autumn, for the beauty of the leaves changing colour, but also for the unique mixture of habitats.

This large expanse of woodland not only contains a mix of woodland types, which is, in itself, on the unusual side but it also contains other “hidden” treasures: a wet meadow and an area of heathland.

It is a wonderful reserve for wildlife generally and is large enough to have a really good walk!

One of our Reserves Officers

Eddie Asbery

Whitacre Heath

46 hectares | Tamworth | Awesome views & alder trees

Whitacre Heath Nature Reserve is a good example of a range of habitats. From marsh land to willow and woodland, the reserve is important for breeding water birds. The pools support species including little grebe, tufted duck, water rail and teal. Waders such as lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe are also regular visitors to the large areas of wet grassland. Other frequently seen birds include great spotted and green woodpeckers and numerous species of warblers, finches, tits and thrushes.

Please note, there is no access to the meadows.

It will hardly come as a surprise that I am going to suggest Whitacre Heath. It has an awesome combination of views over expansive and sensitively grazed wetland/floodplain grassland, drier birch woodland, and atmospheric wet willow woodland.

You can have a good walk on the extensive path network (but do be aware the paths are unsurfaced, rough, and wet in winter). Wildlife to spot: snipe, alder trees, stonechat.

Eddie, Reserves Volunteering Officer

Ashlawn cutting by Kat Wright

Ashlawn Cutting

22 hectares | Rugby | Restored railway & colourful berries

Here at Ashlawn Cutting you can try one of our interactive, measured mile trails! Get the kids out, active and enjoying nature. It's only one mile long with activities along the way, to keep your young ones running to the next post. “Flap your wings like a butterfly”, “hop like a frog” and “scurry like a beetle” along the route. The trail follows the track bed and starts at the Ashlawn Road entrance - follow the wooden markers!

I love running long the path at Ashlawn Cutting and getting to see the seasons change. It's amazing that this use to be an old railway line through Rugby and now it's a dedicated space for wildlife, right in the middle of a town.

One of our Reserves Officers

Brandon Reach. Credit Dan Loveard

Brandon Reach

30 hectares | Coventry | Rich autumn colours & quieter reserve

Brandon Reach is a rich and wild addition to Brandon Marsh that will bring people closer to nature, in a land rich in wildlife. The new addition increases our footprint in this area to 178 hectares - bigger than London's Hyde Park!

The addition of this land in 2019 expands the wild and wonderful habitat, protected by us and Brandon Marsh Voluntary Conservation Team for wildlife and people.

I'm going to suggest Brandon Reach as it gets rich, autumnal colours, and is quieter for a peaceful walk around the reserve. There will be lots of wildlife to hear as you explore the many paths.

Rachael, Reserves Officer

Sunrise at Brandon Marsh by Dave Lawton

Brandon Marsh

92 hectares | Coventry | Visitor centre, 9 bird hides, and 2 surfaced paths

Brandon Marsh is our most well known reserve for the variety and quality of its pools, reedbeds, grassland and woodland. The large pools were created by gravel extraction and attract a huge variety of birds and other wildlife.

We've had Sir David Attenborough visit Brandon Marsh twice and you can even walk in his footsteps, near the mud kitchen! Our wonderful Brandon Marsh Voluntary Conservation Team (BMVCT) have been operating here since 1968.

I would say Brandon, with the trees changing colours and the overwintering waterfowl/otters. But, I know Brandon Marsh gets a big shout anyway!

Rachael, Reserves Officer

Charline Hue

Snitterfield Bushes

44 hectares | Stratford-Upon-Avon | Deer, fungi, and badgers

Situated just north of Shakespeare’s historic Stratford-Upon-Avon, Snitterfield Bushes reserve lies either side of the Snitterfield to Bearley Road, and once formed part of a much larger area of semi-natural, broad-leaved woodland.

Natural forest for centuries, the wood was used for timber, common pasture and agriculture. You can still see old ridge and furrow plough markings in some areas of the reserve. The site was used as an airfield during the 2nd World War and traces of the old concrete runway network and bomb stores can be found towards the centre of the reserve. Following clear-felling of the woodland in the 1940s, the site has now been returned to its current excellence through careful management, deserving of its SSSI status.

Do you want to explore all of our 60+ nature reserves?

We've been managing local nature reserves across Coventry, Solihull, and Warwickshire since 1990 and have over 30,000 members with 60+ nature reserves.

You can filter by facilities available, whether dogs are allowed, and find nearby reserves to a certain postcode or place.

We think you'll be amazed how close a green space is to you!

Find out more about local nature reserves