Heather Keetley
Idle Valley Visitor Centre & Nature Reserve
Reserve mapIdle Valley is the largest reserve in our care, located just five minutes away from Retford and within an hour of Nottingham, Lincoln, Doncaster, Sheffield and Newark.
This beautiful nature reserve is one of the largest in the East Midlands and has something for everyone. Whether you’re planning a gentle stroll with the family, enjoying the treehouse play area, having a spot of lunch in a tranquil setting or are looking for somewhere to spend a whole day wildlife watching, Idle Valley Nature Reserve is the place to head to. We have a wheelchair and pushchair friendly lakeside walk too which includes a brass rubbing trail and self led den building area. Hire a discovery back pack from the cafe/shop for the children to use whilst exploring too!
Idle Valley is one of the richest birding sites in the region - look out for birds such as gadwall and little grebe in winter and breeding wading birds including little ringed plover and redshank in spring and summer. Our café and shop offer a warm welcome and a spectacular view over the reserve making it an ideal destination whatever the weather.
Avian Flu: advice for visitors
The current strain of avian Flu reported in the UK (H5) is very low risk to humans.
The disease is transmitted from bird to bird, so we have been advised that there is no health risk to humans visiting our Reserves, as long as you do not touch any birds.
Find out what to do if you find a dead, sick or injured bird
Dogs on nature reserves
We love dogs, but wildlife isn’t as keen!
So please keep dogs on leads at all times across our nature reserves, especially around livestock and ground nesting birds, where we ask that you keep dogs under close control.
We welcome well-behaved owners and their dogs in our visitor centre but please be considerate to those who are less confident around dogs.
Wildlife to see at Idle Valley
Read Idle Valley Nature Sightings from previous months
Will you help us look after this special place?
Upcoming events at Idle Valley
Birds on the move
For many birdwatchers, autumn is the most exciting time of year. But what are they so excited about?
Disappointment at PFA Planning decision next to Idle Valley
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust expresses disappointment after Planners approve scheme to extract tipped pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from…
Project seeking to bring Nottinghamshire’s water vole population back from the brink reaches exciting stage
The Nottinghamshire Water Vole Recovery Project - one of more than 60 projects aimed at recovering a wide range of our scarcest animals…
Photo Gallery
Photo credit: Heather Keetley
Idle Valley Nature Reserve © Jim Connolly Photography
Tom Hibbert
Mike Vickers
Heather Keetley
Photo © Hattie Lavender
Wildlife brass rubbing circles integrated into a bench
Brass rubbing circle - snake
