Stour Valley
This riverside local nature reserve was our first to be awarded a Green Flag
You can find Stour Valleyhttps://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/parks-nature-and-green-spaces/find-a-park-play-area-or-green-space/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 animalshttps://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/parks-nature-and-green-spaces/rules-to-follow-in-our-nature-reserves/grazing-on-nature-reserves that we use to help us manage the habitats in an environmentally friendly way.
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!