Flatford Wildlife Garden

Please note that our wildlife garden is open seasonally for visitors from the the 12 April -31 October, except for some specific winter event dates. Please see full facility details below. When visiting us please follow current Government guidance around travel, face coverings, social distancing, group sizes, hygiene and follow all signage on-site. See our Covid-19 updates page for the latest safety information (link below). 

Address: RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden, Flatford Rd, East Bergholt, Colchester CO7 6UL

Grid ref: TM076335

What3Words: lively.voted.screening

See our reserves Covid-19 updates page for which sites are open and other important details.

A family-friendly wildlife garden designed to pass on ideas that visitors can incorporate into their own gardens. Located in the village of Flatford, where John Constable used to paint, you'll find a trail featuring carved wooden garden creatures and a living willow tunnel. There's so much to do.

Plan your visit

Garden and outdoor welcome point opening times:

Spring/summer: open daily 12 April - 31 October, 10.30am-4:30pm.
Autumn/winter: closed 1 November - 12 March, except for the below dates.

Winter open days:

Green Christmas Weekends: 27 and 28 November and 4 and 5 December. Open 10.30am-3.30pm.

Big Garden Birdwatch: 29 and 30 January, 10.30am-3.30pm
Snowdrop Weekends: 19 and 20 and 26 and 27 February, 10.30am-3.30pm
February Half-term: 21-25 February, 10:30am-3.30pm

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: Free

Children: Free

Car park cost

The car parks available for the wildlife garden are not operated by the RSPB.

If you are parking at Flatford, parking charges can be found on the National Trust website, or if you are parking at Dedham and walking to the garden parking charges can be found on the Colchester borough council website.

Facilities

Visitor centre is closed
Pushchair friendly
Picnic area
Guided walks is closed
Nature trails
Educational facilities are closed
Play area is closed

Accessibility

Download full accessibility statement (PDF)

How to get here

By train

From Manningtree station, if driving or cycling, take the A137 north until the village of Brantham, then turn left at the roundabout onto the B1070 and from there follow signs for Flatford, which is about 2 miles away.

By bus

You can use the number 93 bus, Ipswich-Colchester (passing Ipswich and close to Colchester Town), which runs from Monday - Saturday. Get off at the East Bergholt stop, 0.75 mile away from the reserve.

By road

Flatford is off the A12 between Ipswich and Colchester. Turn off the A12 on the B1070 into East Bergholt. There are brown tourist signs to Flatford on the main roads through East Bergholt. Or from the A137, turn onto the B1070 at Cattawade.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

Other ways to get there

If you're on foot, Flatford is accessible from Manningtree station via the public footpath leading from the lower station car park - follow signs to Flatford, which is 1.75 miles away. It's also accessible via public footpath from Dedham - follow signs from the bridge over the River Stour, 100m from the free car park.

Get directions from Google Maps

View on What3Words

RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Please keep your dog on a lead and under close, effective control at all times, due to the planting and sensitive wildlife here.

Disturbing wildlife does more than simply causing it to move away; it uses up their energy, decreasing their chance of survival regardless of season. Thank you for protecting the special wildlife here by keeping your dog on a lead.

Groups are usually welcome to visit the garden during normal opening hours. However, changes to laws in England and Scotland mean that the maximum group size able to visit our reserves together is currently 6, unless you are from the same household or bubble.

*Due to Covid-19, we are unable to take school bookings at this time*

Small school groups are welcome to visit the garden during normal opening hours. However, due to the limited size of the garden, we would ask that large groups be split up and visits be staggered. Advance notice of visits via email to stourestuary@rspb.org.uk would be appreciated.

Unfortunately we are not able to accommodate long visits or arrange specific activities, but are always happy to talk to children about the garden and the display items in the barn.

Contact Flatford Wildlife Garden

RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden, Flatford Rd, East Bergholt, Colchester CO7 6UL
stourestuary@rspb.org.uk
01206 391153

What will you see?

Our star species

Goldfinch

Watch out for brightly-coloured goldfinches using the bird feeders, or perching on spiky brown teasel heads in autumn and winter.

Great spotted woodpecker

Early spring is the best time to hear great spotted woodpeckers, but in early summer you could hear the loud calls of chicks.

Long-tailed tit

In spring they build a nest from moss, lichen and feathers which is stretchy to accommodate a growing family!

Song thrush

You can hear song thrushes singing from late winter onwards.

Spotted flycatcher

Over the last few years we have had regular appearances of spotted flycatchers.

Nature spectacles

Flatford Wildlife Garden is about celebrating the day-to-day joys that garden wildlife brings, whether it be spotting a new generation of ladybird larvae on the willow tunnel, watching a cheeky bank vole tucking into a windfall apple, or catching the glint of azure as a damselfly skims over the water of the pond. The mayflies, newly hatched from the nearby river, also provide an amazing aerial dancing display over our mini-meadow each year – one of nature’s spectacles very much admired by our visitors.

Swallows and martins are to be seen gathering in groups at the end of the summer, soaring and wheeling above the garden, making the most of the abundant insect population to feed up before their long journeys to their winter homes.

The garden really springs into life at this time of year. Bulbs burst into bloom, and later in the season you can enjoy the scent of apple blossom. The birds start to nest, and if one of our nest cam boxes is chosen we can observe the whole process right through to the fledging of young ones on our large screen in the barn.

The wildflowers we've planted attract loads of butterflies and other insects, which in turn are good news for the local birds! You can enjoy watching lots of common garden birds here which benefit from our wildlife-friendly gardening techniques. The dancing of the mayflies, newly hatched from the nearby river, provides an amazing aerial spectacle over our mini-meadow. Then damselflies and dragonflies start to flash over the garden with their jewel colours glinting in the sunshine.

Autumn brings new splashes of colour, with leaves changing to oranges, yellows and browns. As you walk around, watch out for toadstools poking through the leaf litter or growing on dead wood. In the trees and bushes, you could see redwings gobbling down berries, or goldcrests flitting around for tiny insects.

Watch out for roving family flocks of long-tailed tits. If you stand still and quiet, they can sometimes come really close to you - a magical experience. Listen for their soft calls, which sound a bit like someone blowing a raspberry. Chattering yellow and black siskins feed high up in the trees, or sometimes on the feeders.

About Flatford Wildlife Garden

Habitat

There are two main habitat types at Flatford Wildlife Garden - garden, and mini-meadow.

Garden habitat has been planted with wildlife in mind as well as for human enjoyment. Log piles, a small wildlife pond and borders attract bees and butterflies and illustrate wildlife-friendly ideas that can be taken home. Planting includes food and shelter for garden wildlife during each of the seasons. A range of trees and shrubs provide fruit, nuts and berries and a small orchard provides blossom for spring pollinators as well as a harvest later in the season.
Mini-meadow habitat makes a haven for bugs from spring onwards. It includes spring flowers such as cowslips, and then wild carrot, yellow rattle and other summer blooms, showing that even a small area of wildflowers can encourage a variety of amazing insects. This is an ideal area for bug hunts! There are seasonally relevant information slates placed around the garden to explain what to look out for and why the garden is being managed in the way that it is. Lots more information is available in the barn, where there is also a touch table displaying a selection of interesting artefacts for visitors to investigate, from snake skins to badger skulls!

Conservation

This is a garden managed with the nurture of wildlife in mind. The design includes planting that will provide food and shelter for garden creatures throughout the seasons. For example, wild flowers which provide food for butterflies or their larvae are given a place in traditional borders, and log piles are left to rot quietly to provide habitat for creatures such as stag beetles. Grass is left a little longer than a traditional lawn or allowed to fully grow in places. Seed heads are left on plants to provide winter wildlife sustenance.

Site information

The garden is situated in the beautiful and historic hamlet of Flatford, where John Constable used to paint. It is designed to teach and inspire people to help wildlife in their own gardens.

Latest blog posts

read our blog

Activities and events

Activities for children and families

Children and families can enjoy a range of activities during school holidays, including mini-beast hunting, nature trails, owl pellet dissection and nature trails amongst others. Please check our events section or call us to check what activities are on at the moment.

The garden includes some features particularly suitable for families. We have a very popular living willow tunnel, a log pile house, a child-sized nest box and a display of natural artefacts on a regularly updated touch table in the barn. Amazing wooden sculptures of giant garden creatures are to be discovered at key points around the winding pathways. As well as the family activities organised during school holidays, there are also nature trails that lead round the garden available at weekends.

For more information on events and to book tickets, please visit events.rspb.org.uk/flatfordwildlifegarden

Leisure activities

Gardening is a popular leisure activity, and whether you are planning to set up a new garden from scratch, tweaking the one you currently have, or even just want to make the most of your balcony, the garden aims to provide inspiration! Our staff and volunteers are always happy to provide information about gardening for wildlife and we have a range of relevant leaflets available to take away too.

The garden also provides a peaceful retreat if you just want to take a few minutes out of a busy lifestyle to watch and listen to the birds or the rustling of the leaves in the trees. There are places to sit and relax throughout the garden and a picnic area too.

Marshside

Lytchett Fields

Arne

Flatford Wildlife Garden