Stour Valley
This riverside local nature reserve was our first to be awarded a Green Flag
You can find Stour Valley on the north-west edge of Bournemouth. A ranger team is based at Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre, next to Granby Road car park. The reserve has been awarded a Green Flag and includes a two mile stretch of riverside footpath, meadows, hedgerows and woodland.
There is an arboretum filled with interesting trees, which are labelled and form part of a trail. As well as the beautiful scenery you can see lots of wildlife, including kingfishers and sometimes even otters.
You might also spot one of the grazing animals that we use to help us manage the habitats in an environmentally friendly way. Find out more about how we care for our natural spaces by reading our management plan.
There are occasional guided walks throughout the year.
If you'd like to enjoy one of our wildlife walks, you can download our leaflet - but we do recommend stopping by the Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre to discover what you might see on the day!
If you'd like to use our map to find out where Stour Valley and our other parks and nature reserves are.