An underrated Country Park in Warwickshire is Hartshill Hayes Country Park, found north of Nuneaton. Park Rangers close the carpark at sundown, however, nothing stops you parking outside. You can then walk through the woods and capture the wildlife, or enjoying a walk. During the summer months, the shop in the carpark is open selling a range of refreshments.
The country park comprises three distinct areas in total. Hartshill Hayes, or the Hayes, is an area of mixed woodland covering some forty-six Hectares. The two Hectares known as Lawrence’s Wood. Hayes Common separates the two woods. The country park also straddles two Parishes, Lawrence’s Wood and Hayes Common, lying in the Civil Parish of Oldbury, Warwickshire. The Hayes is in Hartshill Parish, near Nuneaton.
There’s two previously recorded archaeological features. A round barrow of Bronze Age date. Plus a motte attributed to the Medieval period and visible on Google Earth. To the side of the motte, and overlying its bailey, is the site of the former Manor House known as Hartshill Castle. Sadly, there is now nothing more than a pile of stones following its destruction in the late 1980s.
Hartshill Hayes Country Park is a mature wood existing since at least the Neolithic period. Slight dips of open seams of metallic stone is a treat for the Landscape Photographer. Its north-facing gradient works from the top of Hartshill at 514ft down to the floodplain of south Leicestershire at less than 128ft. It offers several light matrix’s that can range between low light to bright overhead sunshine.
This woodland is one of genuine beauty where you can take in the four seasons. Two freshwater springs lead to three mini waterfalls, one that has over 29 steps feeding a series of freshwater pools full of life. These form into a stream that flow into the River Anker.
Autumn brings a thick carpet of leaves with a cacophony of colours. Watch where you are putting your feet. There’s over a dozen types of fungi (mushroom and toadstools) in the lower reaches because of the perfect conditions. Remember, the fauna and flora are there for you to look and not touch. Any of the fungi can be dangerous as it takes a Mycologist (Fungus expert) to know what is safe to eat or not. If you want mushrooms, go to Tesco’s!
Winter brings out the stark beauty and haunting figures of bare trees planted by nature and not man’s hand. Inside the wood there’s three types of Deer, several breeds of Owls, Hawks and a Hen-hawk. These predators feed on the prey animals in such a deep, dense natural wood.
Visit in spring and with the right timing and it will greet you with the most fabulous display of colour. Vast carpets of bluebells providing a fantastic photo opportunity of Medieval England’s flower emblem.
Summer gives the wood its chance to show its full splendour. A variety of wildlife scurry within its dappled light. Move into a quieter area to see many animals overlooked by hungry Buzzards catching the thermals as warm air rises over the range.
On the common between the two woods, you can sit on a bench and take in the view! Look north, north-east towards the Derbyshire Peaks, north, north-west to see as far as Uttoxeter or north-west and take in Shropshire. It’s the best place to enjoy a park that gets fewer visitors than others to the south or east of Coventry.
To the left of the common, there’s a second smaller wood. A reservoir to its south and a deep quarry further to its west mining the very minerals that have made Hartshill Hayes such a unique place. Photographers will seek the best location to catch the sunlight and waterfalls on the bare mineral rock. If you look carefully once you reach the south-west of the wood, you will stand in the centre of an Iron Age Hill Fort. Higher in the old named “Lawrence Wood” you will see the unusual geology, comprising a series of ribbons of different rocks exposed at the surface.
Whether you are a keen photographer, a walker, parents with kids you would like to experience getting down to nature or just someone looking for the peaceful atmosphere....
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