To find events near you and book your space, head to rspb.org.uk/events
Night-time nature
Spend an evening with the resident Badgers of Wild Haweswater in the Lake District. Thanks to funding from the Icthius Trust, the RSPB has a brand-new Badger-watching hide. It’s situated at ground level, so you can submerge yourself in the popular mammal’s nocturnal world, and from this comfortable viewpoint you can get fantastic views of these secretive animals.
Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire and Coombes Valley in Staffordshire are among reserves offering evening bat walks in August.
Overnight Big Wild Sleepout events, ideal for families, have always been popular on RSPB nature reserves. This year these include Arne in Dorset, Conwy in North Wales and Flatford Wildlife Garden in Suffolk.
Newport Wetlands offers a summer spectacular with stargazing, moth trap reveals, pond dipping and crafts for the whole family.
Fancy coming face-to-face with one of the UK’s most iconic animals? Pay a visit to our Haweswater nature reserve in the Lake District and you could spend the evening watching the entertaining antics of these stripey-faced mammals from the comfort of our custom-built Badger watching hide. Watch our video for a taster of what’s in store (since this video was made there’s a new and even better Badger watching hide!). Search all RSPB events here.
Seabird spectaculars
Gannets are our biggest seabirds with 1.8m wingspans, and watching them plunge into the ocean to catch fish is a breathtaking experience. The Diving Gannets Seabird Cruise at Bempton Cliffs (East Riding of Yorkshire) on 25 August offer incredible views of this. This three-hour cruise aboard the Yorkshire Belle will get you up close to Gannets, and perhaps Puffins and skuas too.
Rathlin Island, off the north coast of Northern Ireland, is also a great place to visit in the summer. Marvel at the seabird colony beside the West Light Seabird Centre or walk the Craigmacagan or Roonivoolin trails and see if you can spot Peregrines, Snipe or Rathlin’s scarce ‘Golden’ Hares.
Tours and trails
The Highland nature reserve RSPB Insh Marshes has some summer Wildlife Wanders planned. Here, you can admire sweetly scented orchids, colourful dragonflies and, if you’re lucky, the scarce Scotch Argus Butterfly.
There’s a self-guided summer trail for the whole family at RSPB Loch Leven. Betty Bumble’s Adventure Trail takes you around the reserve exploring the life of a bumblebee.
Did you know that Meadowsweet was used as a cure for toothache; that picking Greater Stitchwort could risk you being whisked away by pixies; or that Marsh Thistle provides nectar for at least 80 different species? Learn more fascinating facts by following the Wonderful Wildflowers trail at RSPB Pulborough Brooks in West Sussex.
Join TV presenter and former Royal Marines Commando JJ Chalmers along with his family as they spend an amazing day discovering the wonders of nature at RSPB Loch Leven, joined by the RSPB’s Rory Crawford. If you’re inspired by BBC’s Wild Isles, why not visit an RSPB nature reserve near you or visit Save Our Wild Isles to find out more about the actions you can take at home, work, school or in your community, to help Save Our Wild Isles.
