Heritage Trails

Wild Treasures

Welcome to Bushy Park and our heritage trail, Wild Treasures. Bushy Park is a great place to see wildlife and this trail takes you on a tour of some of the best places to look.

Details

Start: Disabled Gate into Pheasantry Garden.
Finish: Fountain Car Park.
Length: 1.5 km or 1 mile.
Duration: 1 hour.
Accessibility of route: Grass and gravel paths, some slopes and uneven ground.
Hazards: Busy road to cross, unfenced edge of pond and rivers.
Number of stops: 11.

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Stops are marked on the map with their number. Print the map to go with your Podcast.

Directions

To find the state of the trail - Stop 1: This is at the gate into the Pheasantry Gardens, near the small car park for disabled visitors. Make sure you are inside the gardens and you can see the trees and lawns in front of you. Stand with your back to the gate and the fence. If you’re in the right place, there will be a path in front of you and another path that leads off to your left.

Audio guide for Stop 1

To find Stop 2: Follow the path on your left round the garden. After about 5 minutes, you’ll come to a wooden bridge over a stream. The bridge is Stop 2.

Audio guide for Stop 2

To find Stop 3: Cross the bridge and take the short path on your left to a gate in the fence. Go through the gate and look a short distance away for a tall dead tree. This is Stop 3.

Audio guide for Stop 3

To find Stop 4: Stand by the large dead tree with the wooden fence on your left. Look for a road ahead of you through the trees. This is Chestnut Avenue. Follow the path near the dead tree to Chestnut Avenue. Cross the Avenue. Take care of the traffic and watch your footing on the slope. When you’ve crossed the road, stop in the trees on the other side. This is Stop 4.

Audio guide for Stop 4

To find Stop 5: Stand with your back to Chestnut Avenue and look ahead through the trees for an old black water pump on a brick base. Walk over to the pump. Just beyond it, there’s a white railing over a small river. The railing is Stop 5.

Audio guide for Stop 5

To find Stop 6: From the white railing, walk beside the river, keeping the water on your right-hand-side. Continue until you get to a wooden bridge by a pond. Stop here to listen to the commentary.

Then follow the bank of the pond, keeping the water on your right hand side until you come to a short narrow channel of water. This links the pond on your right with Heron Pond, the larger pond on your left. Stop when you reach the channel.

Audio guide for Stop 6

To find Stop 7: Follow the edge of Heron Pond over a wooden boardwalk. Soon afterwards, there’s a large tree that has fallen over to the left of the path. This is Stop 7.

Audio guide for Stop 7

To find Stop 8: Continue walking clockwise round Heron Pond, keeping the water on your right hand side. After a few minutes, you’ll reach the end of the pond and come to a low brick bridge. This is over a narrow channel of water that flows away on your left. Stop 8 is the sandy section of path, just before the bridge.

Audio guide for Stop 8

To find Stop 9: Continue walking round Heron Pond, keeping the water on your right hand side. After a few minutes, you’ll see an artificial island in the water on your right, quite close to the bank. When you are level with the island, look to your left. There’s a small tree on the left of the path with mistletoe, a bright green plant, hanging from the branches. This is Stop 9.

Audio guide for Stop 9

To find Stop 10: Stand on the path, with the artificial island on your right and look for the large tree about 25 meters ahead of you on the left of the path. Walk over to the tree and stand so that it is on your right hand side. Now look ahead for a narrow grass path about 50 meters away, leading off to the left of the pond. In summer, there’s bracken on either side of this new path. Stop when you’ve found the path. This is Stop 10.

Audio guide for Stop 10

To find Stop 11: Follow the narrow path ahead of you. You now need to count the side paths that cross your route. Ignore the first two side paths that you cross. Stop when you get to the third junction. You should now be level with the big car park on your right. The third junction is the final stop, Stop 11.

Audio guide for Stop 11

To finish the trail: Follow the path to the car park on your right.