Things to do in Church End, Gloucestershire

Visit WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre set on the eastern side of the River Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire, England. Explore our wetlands with fun activities for all the family.

For fantastic views across the Severn Vale towards the Forest of Dean, Coaley Peak is hard to beat.

One of the finest surviving traditional hay meadows in Gloucestershire, Clarke's Pool Meadow is a sanctuary for small mammals and meadow flora.

This nature reserve safeguards one of the only two remaining British locations of limestone woundwort.

A secluded reserve, sheltered by hedges and scrub, carpeted with wildflowers and home to many butterflies.

Towering beech trees create the tranquil atmosphere, tucked away in a valley close to Box Village.

Edgehills Bog has a peaceful atmosphere and is a relic of, the once widespread habitat, wet heath.

Climb this local landmark for wonderful views of the Slad Valley and look out for a wealth of wildlife. The limestone grassland here supports over 130 species of wildflowers including 13 species of orchid including the rare frog orchids, bee orchids and early purple orchids.

A walk through the magical Laurie Lee Wood is a step back in time. This small, ancient and semi-natural woodland is full of wildflowers such as white helleborine, and bluebells in spring.

Frith Wood Nature Reserve is a wonderful ancient beech wood that straddles the ridge overlooking Painswick Valley and Slad Valley near Stroud.

Part of what once was a large wet heathland covering Cinderford, Laymoor Quag bursts with plant and insect life in the spring and a great place to look out for dragonflies in the summer months.

Stuart Fawkes nature reserve, also known as Box Meadows SSSI, is made up of three fields and is home to one of Britain's largest populations of meadow clary, a very rare plant found in only 21 sites.

Woorgreens is found in the heart of the Forest of Dean, and is home to a range of wildlife that live within its marsh, lake and heath habitats. Now considered threatened, heathland once covered large areas of the Forest of Dean.In the spring and summer it's a great place to spot dragonflies and damselflies or look for reptiles. Bird life is abundant, both on the lake and the surrounding heathland and woodland edges - listen out for the sound of the cuckoo, look for shy crossbills in the woodland edges, or look for hobbies chasing dragonflies over the lake.

Sitting at the foot of the Golden Valley, Blackness Banks is a key steppingstone linking important habitats in the Golden Valley to those on Rodborough and Minchinhampton Commons.

Snows Farm is a beautiful traditional grassland that comes alive with flowers and butterflies in spring and summer. It's situated at the head of the Dillay Valley and is about three miles north-east of Stroud.The reserve is part of the Slad Valley Wildlife Way that links Frith Wood and Swift's Hill nature reserves on a circular walk.

A great place to come to admire one of the remaining marshlands in the Forest of Dean. Cannop Bridge Marsh has a wealth of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies in the summer and is a great place to try to spot nuthatches, treecreepers, woodpeckers and reed buntings.

A great place to explore if you love both geological features, fossils and wildlife.This SSSI has both important geological features and a sheltered, sunny position making it an ideal location for grassland butterflies and scrub-loving birds.

Hidden along the bottom of the Golden Valley, Dimmel’s Dale has wildflower-rich west-facing banks, a babbling brook and a woodland, offering a rich variety of habitats for wildlife. Explore this reserve on its own for a gentle stroll, or go for a longer hike throughout the Golden Valley starting at Dimmel's Dale and going on to discover other reserves including Daneway Banks.