Red Kite over Drovers Retreat Woodland Walk

There is nothing like a woodland walk to start the day. I set off under grey skies to our woodland reserve and although the bees were subdued, waiting for the warming sun, a profusion of birdsong soon chorused my steps. Wrens chattered away in the ash branches and chiffchaffs called while a buzzard soared overhead. Soon I was recording everything from Blackcap to Warbler and Chaffinch to Treecreeper. And at my feet, the mossy path and banks were crowded with lady’s smock, wood anemone, dog violet, primrose and bluebell.

Drovers Retreat Woodland Walking in Spring

High above us in the Radnor Forest a stream, joined by natural springs eventually runs through land. On its way through it is filtered by nature’s own leaky dams - courtesy of the natural fall of trees and branches across a steep sided dingle, and so it arrives crystal clear in our regenerating woodland. No surprise then that in 2025 we were awarded official designation as a Local Wildlife Site.

During your stay at Drovers Retreat you can spend as little or as long as you wish bathed in nature, whether it’s a quick one-mile walk down and round the woodland paths or a more leisurely rest on the bench, bird spotting or simply ‘being’.