Beaver watching
Take a family trip to see beavers, from spring to autumn.
The Cornwall Beaver Project runs bookable weekly beaver watches from spring through to autumn. Visitors can see the beaver dams in daylight then sit until dusk to try and glimpse the animals as they emerge. Book your place via the Cornwall Wildlife Trust website.
Beavers were reintroduced to Cornwall in 2017 at Wood Valley Farm near Ladock. They were once a native species and are a ‘keystone’ species of wetland habitats, benefiting other species, from fish and frogs to insects and birds. Beavers also have the potential to reduce flooding – their activities such as building dams and digging water channels enable the land around them to hold more water. This same activity helps make river water cleaner. Slowing the flow of the water helps to filter it, causing soil sediment and pollutants to settle at the bottom of beaver ponds, essentially trapping them away.
A circus of puffins!
Take a jetboat safari to see a wealth of sealife from puffins and dolphins to seals and guillemots. This Easter we took a trip with Padstow Sealife Safaris and saw a pod of dolphins, seals, puffins and more. There’s a breeding colony at ‘Puffin Island’ just off Padstow where you can view these glorious seabirds between March – July each year.
Puffins are on a red list, needing conservation concern and the boat keeps a respectful distance (bring binoculars) but you can watch puffins, guillemots, gannets, shearwaters, razorbills and more. An amazing view to see British sealife.
Visit Looe Island
Over the summer you can join a Cornish Wildlife Trust trip to Looe Island, Cornwall’s only marine nature reserve. There’s a marked trail to follow around the island and you’re likely to see grey seals, cormorants and oystercatchers, as well as butterfly and wild meadows.
Helman Tor Nature Reserve
Just five miles from Tredethick, you can summit the ancient climb of Helman Tor and enjoy the wildness of the wetland complex spreading from the slopes of tor.
The landscape is shaped by tin streaming which creates hummocks and hollows, with lichen-covered granite to hug and wildflwoers to enjoy. There’s also the remains of a Neolithic hill settlement. Find out more here.
Enjoy plenty of wild here at Tredethick!
There’s acres of farm and woodland to explore, filled with wildflowers, native trees and wildlife. Find out more in our child-friendly nature at the farm blog.