Woman bending down to help with stick held by small boy in woodlands — Visitors walking in the woods | © National Trust Images / James Dobson

Surrey

Bookham Commons activity trail

Bookham Commons is a widely varied landscape, ranging from shady woodlands, to open grassland plains, to marshy ponds and wetlands. This provides a wonderful set of habitats for lots of wildlife. See how much you can spot as you wander along the paths.

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Total steps: 7

Start point

Tunnel Car Park, KT23 3LT, grid ref: TQ130557

Step 1

From the notice board take the right fork along a surfaced path.

Step 2

The path will cross a small stream and you will reach a T-junction. Turn left here, following the signpost to the bird hide. After 20 yards you will find the path to the bird hide overlooking the Upper Eastern Pond. When you have finished at the pond, continue along the path through the oak woodland. You will pass more ponds on your left hand side which were created as fish ponds for the monks of Chertsey Abbey.

Watch the birds

Pause at the bird hide to watch the birds. Often there are moorhens, coots and mallards paddling between banks and reed beds. In autumn and winter you may be able to see birds such as teal, heron and kingfishers. In summer, look out for dabchicks and little grebe. As you walk further along the path look up at the trees on your right-hand side. This is the heronry, where the birds raise their young, returning to the same nest year after year. Keep an eye out also for roe deer among the trees, and for buzzards flying overhead.

Step 3

The path comes to a junction of many paths by Merrits Cottage. Take the surfaced path on your right, which follows a course between Hill House Wood and the Central Wood.

Singing birds

Listen carefully to the birdsong. Some birds, such as robins, blackbirds and tits are vocal with song and calls throughout the year. The peak time is spring though, when birds sing more loudly to attract mates. Lots of birdsong means the wood is dense enough for birds to feel safe to build nests and raise young. In autumn you may see fungi here such as fly agaric, chicken of the woods and wood blewit.

Step 4

After approximately 400 yards, the path comes to an open glade. The surfaced path turns to the right, but you should take the left-hand path and follow it to the Hundred Pound Bridge.

Step 5

The Hundred Pound Bridge is a great place to play pooh sticks! Take a breather here before heading down the surfaced path, or if you wish to be more adventurous you can take the bridle path a little further to the right. The bridle path goes through the Western plain and the area was once open grassland, grazed by cattle. Today this is a prime hunting ground for goshawks and sparrow hawks.

Step 6

The surfaced path will come back to the junction at Merritts Cottage. (If you've followed the bridle path, you'll first come to a path where you have to turn left.) From the cottage, head straight down back down the surfaced track to the Tunnel Car Park.

Step 7

The path will continue through woodland and you will come out by the car park.

End point

Tunnel Car Park, KT23 3LT, grid ref: TQ130557

Trail map

Trail

Bookham Common butterfly walk

This walking trail takes you through one of the best woods in England for sighting the elusive purple emperor butterfly, which thrives here thanks to decades of work by National Trust rangers to protect the specialist habitats it needs.

Church Road, Great Bookham, Surrey, Nearest postcode KT23 3LT

01372220640

bookhamcommons@nationaltrust.org.uk

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