Attenborough Nature Centre — Attraction in Broxtowe

Having read some of the previous reviews it appears there seems to be an awful lot people who don't understand what a nature reserve is about and how it should be used. On my resent visit I expected so much but was sadly disappointed as the place seems to be used and abused by all and sundry. Call me a purest but surely a nature reserve should be a quiet, peaceful place where the focus is on nature and wildlife, but this place seems to be overrun by cyclist, runners and dog walkers. It comes to something when you go to a nature reserve to enjoy "Nature" and are made to feel like you are the odd one out. Woe betide you stop to try and spot that bird you can hear singing because you're likely to get run over by some mad cyclist on a mission, dinging his bell shouting "coming through" because apparently you are in his way! How dare you stop to enjoy the birds! To sum up if you want a quiet peaceful day birding or photographing the flora and fauna then don't come here, certainly not on a Saturday anyway. This nature reserve has become nothing more than a glorified public park with an over priced tea room. My advise, drive an hour up the road and go to Whisby, it's a much better reserve, and no Runners, cyclists or loose dogs (All dogs on leads...

This is a beautiful place and our real perennial favourite. We start at Trent Lock and ride bikes along the towpath to Beeston Marina, then returning to Attenborough village and Attenborough Nature Centre, ending up with a mocca in the cafe. The Centre is surrounded by the Nature Reserve and houses a shop, cafe, toilets and a little garden with bird watching from a special indoor hide overlooking one of the lakes. The cafe serves hot food, salads and cakes - the service is always slow at busy times but the coffee is good and they serve decaff too. The balcony overlooking the lake is wonderful to relax on with a coffee while watching birdlife. The shop has some lovely things -kids' toys all nature related, designer souvenir mugs and plates and suchlike, a good selection of binoculars and mini microscopes, and a clothing range (not always available) - we bought excellent quality caps, ranger hats and hoodies from there. Activities can be booked from the Centre such as guided walks. You can buy bird food there too, in particular for just a few pence a bag of proper bird seed for ducks and geese on the lake (please don't feed them bread as it harms them). It's great for families, as the whole of the Attenborough...

Really nice place. Lots of wildlife to see (mainly birds). Lots of nice walks, some of which are longer, but equally picturesque. There is a nice cafe with lots of drinks options and food, although this is a bit limited. The shop forms part of the cafe and has lots of items for sale, just to name a few, bird boxes, seed, children's toys etc. For the bird watchers, there is a good selection of binoculars if your money stretches that far. Also in the cafe are toilets for both men and women, and assuming these are for the wheelchair and pushchairusers, as I didn't use them. When we visited, there was an art exhibition with some beautiful paintings and prints of birds and animals. Make sure visit the Sandmartin hide to the rear of the cafe, as they are currently nesting, and you can get really close and is amazing. There are also other hides around the reserve. Car parking currently £3 for 2 hours, £4 for 4 hours or £5 ally day. Fairly reasonable. If you have a few hours to spare, make a visit,...