Things to do in Waterend, 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.

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

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.

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.

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

Wigpool is the remnant of the acidic bog and heathland that once covered Wigpool Common. The pool is situated within a large conifer plantation, and is a great place for marshland plants, reptiles and wildfowl.

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.

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

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

Famous for its steep slope, Cooper’s Hill is also an internationally renowned ancient beech woodland with areas of open scrub and grassland.

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.

Lying within the gently-rolling countryside around the River Leadon, Collin Park Wood nature reserve is an area of ancient woodland which has been coppiced for centuries. A great place to immerse yourself in ancient woodland, admire woodland flowers, and watch the colours change in autumn (look for the fruit of the wild service tree).

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.

Ashleworth Ham is a remnant of what was once a much largest wetland landscape, and due to its ecological important it is no public access to this nature reserve.

One of the few wild daffodil meadows left in the area known as the "golden triangle", these fields are carpeted with wild daffodils every spring. Old orchard trees and woodland boundaries also attract lots of birds.