In 2007 over 80 pairs of red kites bred in the area, rearing over 100 young.

Red kites at Top Lodge

30 April to 31 July

Visit us at Fineshade Woods visitor centre and get close to nesting red kites as we bring you live footage from a red kite nest.

Get a fantastic, and rare, insight into red kite family life, from hatching, through to the young squabbling over food and making their first flights into adulthood.

Join us every weekend for a guided walk (£2 per person) around some of this 1,500 acres of ancient woodland. Some 76 species of birds make this woodland their home, including willow warblers, chiffchaffs, blackcaps, great spotted and green woodpeckers, nuthatch and maybe even ravens.

We also hope to show you live footage of other birds such as buzzards, swallows and great tits, and during May watch out for lizards and slow worms underfoot.

Opening times

The centre is open daily, 10 am-5 pm.

Facilities

Refreshment facilities are available at the Lodge Café, there is also a Craft Guild retail area and an RSPB shop on site, all of which are open year-round.

You can explore the site for yourself on the all-ability circular walks.

How to get there

The visitor centre at the Foresty Commission's Top Lodge, Fineshade Woods is signposted from the A43, two miles south of Duddington. Look for signs to 'Top Lodge, Fineshade'.

What should I bring?

Water to drink, binoculars, stout footwear and wet weather gear.

Why not make a day of it?

Nearby attractions that you may also like to visit:

• Bourne Woods
• Deene Park
• Fermyn Woods
• Kirby Hall
• Lyddington Bede House
• Nene Valley Railway
• Rutland Water
• Burghley House

This project is supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, Landfill Communities Fund money from the Waste Recycling Group distributed by WREN and various Charitable Trusts.