Local Guides World
Top Nature preserves in Bristol, United Kingdom
Top Rated Nature preserves in Bristol
Top Reviewed Nature preserves in Bristol
National Trust - Leigh Woods
Big Tree Grove
Stockwood Open Space Nature Reserve
Overscourt Woods
Frenchay Moor
Magpie Bottom
Bishops Knoll Wood
Willsbridge Valley
Reviews
Nice circular walk through woodlands and onto local nature reserves. Took about 59 minutes to walk with the dog round Bishops Knoll and Old Sneed Park
Great place to come with children and dogs. A great link between Hanham and Kingswood
These days, it's less a nature reserve and more a recreational park for dog owners. The whole place is overun with dogs. Some dog owners are fine, but there are always some who leave piles of dog excrement (sometimes in bags) who aren't remotely interested in nature. Maybe beavers could establish themselves here, but it can't happen in its current state. It's a shame.
A beautiful little slice of nature nestled in a valley between St George & Hanham.
Despite its relatively small size there's lots of natural beauty hidden away on the winding paths, from the stream and pond at the bottom of the valley to the ancient orchard with unique breeds of apple.
The information panels give you insight into both the modern day wildlife and the valleys past as a market garden and mining site.
A beautiful spot to walk in all seasons but bring your wellies if it's been raining as it gets very muddy in places.
Despite its relatively small size there's lots of natural beauty hidden away on the winding paths, from the stream and pond at the bottom of the valley to the ancient orchard with unique breeds of apple.
The information panels give you insight into both the modern day wildlife and the valleys past as a market garden and mining site.
A beautiful spot to walk in all seasons but bring your wellies if it's been raining as it gets very muddy in places.
Great we hidden green, small walk that leads to open area with a stream into a lovely pond
Lovely green space that goes on further than it first appears. Lots of grassy areas as well as wooded hillside and a stream. Also has a duck pond with little bridge surrounded by gigantic Gunnera and water Iris!
Beautiful little wilderness in the middle of the suburbs. Interesting historically and well tended by a group of volunteers. Difficult to find but well worth it. Can't wait for the magpie joy to ripen!
Lovely place to get close to nature, the friends of Magpie Bottom do a wonderful job keeping the place accessible for everyone to enjoy.
I used to play down here as a child and collect apples, blackberries, and sometimes a pare when I was lucky!
The stream runs through the tunnels and under the bridges, it’s just a lovely place to chill out.
It’s very popular for dog walkers, for obvious reasons!
I used to play down here as a child and collect apples, blackberries, and sometimes a pare when I was lucky!
The stream runs through the tunnels and under the bridges, it’s just a lovely place to chill out.
It’s very popular for dog walkers, for obvious reasons!
Really enjoyed seeing the fantastic old Oak tree, about 700 years old. It looked in good health with lots of foliage - a special tree
Absolute delight of a place to visit. We all loved it, including my pernickety granddaughter.
Love it here. Mostly quiet walks, lots of wild garlic this time of year, you can walk for hours and still find new routes. There muddy paths, wooded paths, fields, water, excellent views. Very happy to live so close to this open space. Given it a point off as sadly there's some dodgy ppl around here at time.
Great open space closer to city for some nice walks and a peaceful atmosphere. Probably good for trail biking too. It has a big center open grass area which the dogs would love. Not crowded at all.
Nice place to walk the dogs. Just wish the council would empty the poo bin more often🤢
Love this place. It's big enough to have a full car park and not see another person. There's a big wood on the carpark side and fields, wood with a stream, and little waterfalls on the other side, which leads you onto the old Mangotsfield Golf Club. It shut down, and so is also a lovely walk. The Bridge Inn pub is a lovely turnaround point.
Great place to walk and play with your dog. Good place for children and families to connect with nature.
Great place for walking with your dog. Beautiful woods with lots of birds and wildlife.
Lovely woods for a dog walk, can easily spend hours here! Very quiet and nice views. Some of the paths very muddy after rain as its tracks through grass.
Family-friendly walking, running and mountain bike trails 10 minutes from Bristol City centre.
Pay to park.
Nice little refreshment waggon (Weekends only, I believe).
Pay to park.
Nice little refreshment waggon (Weekends only, I believe).
Lovely dog walking and mountain biking area. Large area of woodlands with lots of trails. Nice and quiet during a school/work day. Need to pay for parking (parking meter or ringgo).
Leigh Woods is absolutely beautiful. Plenty of room and pathways to explore. We visited in the rain, which didn't matter under the tree cover. Had a lovely experience of a deer walking out in front of us. Lovely to get back to nature.
Really clean area with lots of places to sit and rest. My son really enjoyed the bike tracks. Next time we'll go earlier as the gates shut at 9pm and would've liked to stay until dark
Excellent place walks dogs picnic
Lovely and massive woodland with cafe and car park. Some steep areas. Main path can be traversed with a buggy
Lovely little place to walk, there's a car park, and the walks seem to be pretty endless with lots of different paths, there are woodland trails and some larger more open areas.
Dog friendly as well, will defs be back.
Dog friendly as well, will defs be back.
Great walk of which you can easily view Bristol City Football club training pitches but also the impressive redwoods
Beautiful woodland, good quality walking paths...
I have visited once before and found it to be a decent woodland for a nice walk but my most recent visit exceeded expectations. We walked from the car park (very reasonably priced, 4 pound for all day) to the arboretum and back along the Riverside path and round. The woods were littered with massive swathes of bluebells and wild garlic and the streams and pools along the way we're beautiful. It really felt out of the city too, there was no traffic noise and lots of birdsong. Would definitely recommend a visit.
Woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, within North Somerset opposite of Bristol and north of the Ashton Court estate, of which it formed a part.
Good parking. Lots of routes to walk. Not particularly big and lacking facilities. White Lion is a definite good stop and a shirt walk away.
Beautiful hidden woodland steeped in history. Perfect for all the family and walking the dogs. Full of nature and interesting trees, including an ancient oak. Please look after it if you visit and take away your dog poo.. there has been issues recently of people not doing so. Also there’s not much parking and it’s not a long walk from The Downs and public transport so leave your car at home if you can.
Lovely walk, lots of paths to explore, muddy in the winter, beautiful scenery, will be fantastic in the summer
Lovely but quite hilly woodland, circular path, small wooden shelter, collection of giant redwood trees and plenty of mushrooms and wildlife to find if you look.
Great place to take the family
A lovely walk around a historical site. It was quite wet when we arrived, so lots of space in the car park; but it was warming up when we left so the car park was quite full (only space for about ten cars). Their is a firm path all the way round, but it isn’t level (and is a little slippy in places).
Visited the Frenchay Flower Show 2022, a well organised event with something for everyone. Cake and Veg competition, classic cars, bikes, tractors, Alpaca’s, birds of prey etc…
Some of the stalls were a bit pricey and lacked value for money especially the tea and cakes in the village hall. Otherwise it was worth the £2.50 entry fee.
Some of the stalls were a bit pricey and lacked value for money especially the tea and cakes in the village hall. Otherwise it was worth the £2.50 entry fee.
A good mix of woodland, wild meadows, footpaths as well so part of the open space is accessible to everyone. Good for nature spotters.
A hidden gem. Beautiful, peaceful place to walk, great with dogs. Lots of open space, fields and woods to wander through in the many little paths. Stream runs through the valley, which is great for the dogs and on a hot day. Little car park, which I've never found full, but on a very tight bend in the road.
Not worth a walk if it's been raining a lot though, it turns into a bog!
Not worth a walk if it's been raining a lot though, it turns into a bog!
Lovely walk that goes on for miles. A little oasis worthy of a visit.
Takes 45 minutes to walk around.
It takes about 2 hours to walk around this nature reserve, where you can see many wild animals including Deer, and various Birds. Beautiful part of Stockwood.
It's a bit muddy at this time of year. A nice green space that feels like being out in the countryside, but actually very close to the city.
A beautiful woodland area popular for walking the hound. Always nice and tranquil and a place to escape the bustle of city living.
Wonderful place - an asset to the local community. I wish it was bigger, just to lighten the load of people eroding the paths etc.
We've lived in Nailsea for nearly 20 years and only discovered this amazing spot today. Ashton Hill plantation is a special enough place to walk through on a warm spring afternoon but to come across this stand of Giant Redwoods in all their splendour was an unlooked for marvel.
This has instantly placed in our top five favourite places for local walks.
This has instantly placed in our top five favourite places for local walks.
Most of the ash trees have been removed, mostly along the paths so it doesn’t look or feel anywhere near as nice as it used to. Not much point in going anymore
Great park with not too much congestion. Free street parking
Lovely space to get fresh air and allow your dog to run off the lead. In spring there are often ducklings to be seen. Well maintained by the group of volunteers
A fantastic little find on a nice sunny day. A small car park but you can easily spend a few hours here.. I would say it's a nice easy walk with some lovely views and good places to sit and eat your picnic.
Love this place . Best untouched village in Bristol walks the Moore's the common BOBBY DAZZLER
Was a lovely unspoilt area which only really locals knew about so I could go for a walk with my mum who has dementia. Now it's completely ruined in the week way too many people driving here after that annoucement last year - completely spoilt too many people. Don't say it should be enjoyed by all, AS ITS AGAINST THE LAW FOR NON LOCALS TO DRIVE HERE ANYWAY!!!!! Today There were about 8 cars parked next to the entrance, people furloughed taking their dogs to a place which isn't local to them - STAY AWAY!! I am reporting this to the police
Such a lovely place to walk and relax. Plenty to see. There’s a coffee shop there (now closed due to lockdown) and a very small parking lot.
Lovely walking on paths around the open space. Even better in summer when you can walk on the grass. Lovely views across the valley towards the hills. Amazing birdsong even in winter. If you are lucky you might see deer and other wildlife at dawn or dusk when there aren't many people about.
Fantastic circular walk on the outskirts of Bristol. Can be a little busy and sometimes muddy. Great views, good photo opportunities.
Lovely, clean, open area for walking dogs. We will visit again.
This place is breathtaking. Its a gigantic place to walk around. Could easily not bump into anybody for the day. One of my favourite places. Only issue is there isn't much parking and trying to cross the road there is a nightmare made by drivers going far to fast!
Lovely place for a walk it's a shame they sometimes put cows in the field which make it a bit inaccessible
Good walks. Check out the route maps on line. Social distancing possible.
Lovely walk very muddy at this time of year. Wear old boots!
found out about this little gem through the Woodland Trust magazine. Much enjoyed our walk spotting wild flowers and searching for the mighty oak tree. definitely worth a visit.
Lovely walks, along paths if you wish, or through woods and fields. Chances of wildlife spotting, including deer. It's a bigger space than you think. Quite a few dog walkers, and bins for dog waste - though not everyone uses them :(
Came here to chill out, parked up & sat on a bench over looking the landscape. View is fantastic, very little urbanisation to spoil the view, nice breeze & fresh air. Got a nice dose of sunlight. Not many people around for the time of day that I went. Also not much noise from cars or traffic to be seen. Nice to take in the view, fresh air, sunlight & forget about the hustle & bustle of city life.
Beautiful circular stroll following and crossing Siston Brook, going down to a historic mill. For an extended walk, follow the Dramway through to River Avon -- then either walk towards the Inn Keeper pub in Keynsham, or a nicer walk the other way, with Cleeve Wood on your other side.
Leigh Woods is a brilliant city mountain biking place, some off pieste bits to find which are pretty awesome to be honest, well maintained and the small tabletop section approx 3/4 of the way round is good for practicing you jumping skills. On the weekend there is normally a coffee trailer there too.
Had a lovely walk at willsbridge Mill today in the snow.