High Woods Wildlife Trail

High Woods Country Park is a suburban park only a 15 minute walk from Colchester Town centre. It is large enough (370 acres, 150 hectares i.e. the size of 150 football pitches) that you can soon find yourself in a tranquil spot, feeling you are in the heart to the countryside. There is ancient woodland, wildflower grassland, a lake, ponds, and coppice woodland for you to explore. It is a great place to picnic, walk, cycle, fish, feel close to nature or simply unwind. Refreshments are available at the visitor centre with a nearby adventure play area. There are various marked walking trails including this one.

This is an interactive trail for all the family. Download the app to enjoy our 1 mile nature trail and have fun trying to complete the accompanying wildlife quiz. Along the route find 10 marker points, scan the QR codes you find there to access information about the wildlife of the park.

If you enjoy this trail you can come back another season and discover fascinating facts about the wildlife to be found in that season as well. We have 4 trails for you to enjoy:

Spring is available - March, April, May

Summer is available – June, July, August

Autumn is available – September, October, November

Winter is available – December, January, February

Allow 1.5 – 2 hours to complete the trail. However if you don’t have time to read all the information or do the quiz out on the trail, once you have scanned all 10 of the QR codes the information and the quiz will be available on the app for you to access at your leisure and to refer to again and again until you down load the next trail.

Trail is suitable for all ages, adults and children. Why not complete the trail with your scout or brownie group, as a holiday activity or a school activity?

Trail is on surfaced paths but some sections do get muddy after poor weather, some sections are slightly hilly.