Burnham Beeches — Local services in Great Britain

Is it because I’ve been visiting all my life? Is it because is a truly remarkable natural place? Is it because it has great history? I think it is all these and much more!!! Burnham Beeches is one great place to visit and let me take you there! There is adequate car parking. By the end of the car park, there is a lovely coffee shop and visitor’s information centre. They both have green roofs, boasting local grasses and flowers, a biosphere in themselves, feeding the bees and many other species. There are 4-5 lavatories and each has a natural light device on the ceiling. Turn left after the coffee shop and after the cattle grid, on your left, there is a walkway to let people cross a preserved area where various protected species thrive. There are double spaces at interval, so if someone comes from the other side, you can easily give way. If you take this path, you turn right at the end of it and right again on the first path ahead. You reach the tarmac road and you cross into the Green. You cross again and turn right after the Green. Follow the path and it will take you to the upper pond, where pink lotus plants, mandarin and other ducks have their home. If you want a longer walk, you turn left after the pond and following the path next to the stream, you reach the lower pond. Reeds and yellow lotus plants dominate this pond and I noticed that the last decade have overtaken most of the pond. The way to the cafe is either going back to the upper pond, or turning right at the lower pond until you find the tarmac road. Then, the coffee shop will be on your right. On your way there, you can see an ancient oak tree which is protected, and read it’s story on the information board. After this oak, a bit further up and on the left side of the road, you may see depending on the season, wild strawberries!!’ They are not very visible as they are tiny, around 5-10mm…

If you want a shorter walk, after the upper pond, turn directly right, follow the path by the pond and you’ll soon find the cafe.

As you arrived and met the cafe, if you go on the right side after the cafe, you can follow various paths, finding a stream, and at some point if it’s the right season you can find wild garlic. If you are lucky on this side of the woods, you may see filming crews, filming the next best movie!!!

But the most nice place is the beginning of the Victoria Drive, where the tallest beeches trees, stand straight on the sides of the hill. On top of the hill, you can still see cement bases from the WW2 camps, because the Forrest used to hide the army.

These are the parts that most people visit usually, but the Forrest is quite large and many other enjoyable routes can be found, if you obtain a map from the information centre.

For me and my family, Burnham Beeches is like home, many picnics, birthdays, and walks whatever the weather!!!

Please be mindful when visiting, do not interfere with wildlife, do not even move a piece of rotten wood, as underneath it, whole communities of insects and fungi, working as nature intended.

I hope you will like visiting...

This is truly a majestic place. With my knowledge of all things arboreal being somewhat limited, I was unable to identify the types of trees that made up the bulk of this forest although I did spot a couple of oaks. As is my tradition when visiting woodlands named after culinary malpractice, I brought along some prosciutto and took great joy in setting it ablaze. I'd advise great care if you intend to visit with this intention - without proper fire-safety training one could easily cause a massive conflagration. An occurrence which is likely to bring disapproving looks from locals and visitors alike, although I'm sure that Burnham's own Arsonist Anonymous Group would greet the incident with silent admiration. Needless to say I took all the necessary safety precautions and a catastrophic inferno was avoided. I did, however, render my dry-cured meat inedible and in the process, regrettably, managed to...

This is a great place to enjoy the outdoors. It will appeal to nature lovers, dog walkers, families and anyone who enjoys a good walk. There is a variety of habitats. As well as the woods there is a boardwalk through a marsh area, ponds, open grassland and the whole place is steeped in history. There is a kiosk serving food and drinks for consumption outside, a picnic area, toilet facilities and a car park which applies a compulsory daily charge at weekends and Bank Holidays and asks for a donation at other times. The income generated by this goes towards the upkeep of...