Our outdoor excursions are normally held generally twice each month at a wide range of different locations. For around fifty years the society has arranged two kinds of excursion: field trips and Wednesday walks.
Field Trips
Field trips often go to a nature reserve with plenty of time to look at the specialities of the location. They are generally only a few miles in length and led by a knowledgeable naturalist. Some are targeted at a specific range of creatures: for example: birds, fungi moths or an aspect of natural history such as geology.
Wednesday walks
Our Wednesday walks are generally more informal than the field trips and of general natural history interest. From the earliest days this social occasion has ended with the option of a convivial pub lunch to end the morning exertions. Walks can be up to 4 ½ miles in length and so much of the time is spent walking. Details are published in the printed programme sent out to all members, the event calendar and the newsletter email. In the winter (October to March) we may need to change plans due to the weather and so we publish full details only a week in advance and at our evening meetings.
To see all our forthcoming excursions please see our outdoor programme or calendar of events
Here are reports on recent excursions. Click on the title to see the full report.
- Sulham Woods – 20 October 2024
David Owens led a walk round the northern section of Sulham Woods on the morning of Sunday 20 October. It was raining a little, but not as much as most of the forecasts had predicted. The first named storm of the season, Storm Ashley, was out to the west and had gale force winds associated ... - Hailey – 16 October 2024Jan Haseler led a walk starting from the King William IV pub at Hailey, near Wallingford. Members were pleased to see the ‘Walkers welcome’ sign at the entrance to the top car park. It was a mild day with grey skies and some drizzle initially, but the skies became brighter as the morning progressed. Two ...
- Sherfield on Loddon – 22 September 2024Andy Bolton led a walk round Wildmoor, to the north-east of Basingstoke, on the afternoon of Sunday 22 September. There had been copious amounts of rain in the preceding 24 hours and the forecast was for more to come. But the forecast had been unduly pessimistic, because apart from some light drizzle and a single ...
- Moulsford – 18 September 2024On Wednesday 18 September, Rob Stallard led a 3.5 mile walk from Moulsford to Cleeve Lock and back, following the Thames Path along the west bank of the Thames. The morning started dull under dense cloud cover, but the sun soon burned through the clouds. Members gathered in the car park next to the village ...
- Bartley Heath HIOWWT Reserve – 1 September 2024Julia Cooper and Ian Duddle led a walk round Bartley Heath, a reserve of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIOWWT), on the afternoon of Sunday 1 September. It was a hot and sunny day, with the temperature in the high twenties. The reserve is on common land, between Hook and the M3. ...
- Charvil Country Park – 21 August 2024Fiona Brown led a well-attended walk round Charvil Country Park and BBOWT’s Loddon Reserve on the morning of Wednesday 21 August, starting from the Heron on the Ford pub. The weather was mostly sunny, but with a cool breeze. The route led left out of the pub car park and along the lane for a ...
- Dragonflies at 50 Acre Piece – 17 August 2024Alan Holmes led a well-attended dragonfly walk at 50 Acre Piece near Padworth Common on the morning of Saturday 17 August. The sun was shining, but there was a cool breeze, so many of the dragonflies were perching rather than flying, which gave members more time to locate and inspect them. The heathland site is ...
- Dancers End BBOWT reserve – 10 August 2024Volunteer warden Mick Jones led a walk in cloudy conditions round BBOWT’s Dancers End reserve, near Tring, on the afternoon of Saturday 10 August. Members gathered by the ornate Victorian pumping station. A volunteers’ room within the pumping station buildings had a collection of historical pictures of the reserve, with information about former owner Charles ...
- Yoesden Bank BBOWT reserve – 20 July 2024Inge Beck led a walk to BBOWT’s Yoesden Bank reserve near Bledlow Ridge (in the Chilterns between High Wycombe and Princes Risborough) on the morning of Saturday 20 July. It was a mild but cloudy morning. Meeting point was the Village Hall car park. After a short walk north-westwards along Chinnor Road, the route turned ...
- Paices Wood – 6 July 2024John Lerpiniere led a walk round Paices Wood Country Park, at the back of Young’s Industrial Estate near AWE Aldermaston, on the morning of Saturday 6 July. It had been advertised as a butterfly walk with White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary as the principle targets, but low temperatures, a strong wind and intermittent showers meant ...
- Hardwick – 3 July 2024Cathy Harris led a circular walk on the Hardwick Estate on the cool grey morning of Wednesday 3 July. Members gathered by the roadside near the former Kings Head pub (now a private house) at Collins End, near Goring Heath. A gap in the hedge marked the start of a footpath which led in a ...
- Bramshill – 22 June 2024Rob Stallard led a walk round Bramshill Plantation on the morning of Saturday 22 June. It is an extensive area of conifer plantations on a former heathland common, later used for some sand and gravel extraction and is crossed by a network of tracks and paths. It was classified as an SSSI in 1988 and ...
- Moths at Thatcham Reedbeds – 14-15 June 2024The Society’s annual moth-trapping session was held on the night of Friday 14 June / Saturday 15 June at Thatcham Reedbeds. We would particularly like to thank BBOWT’s Roger Stace, the Land Manager for the West Berkshire reserves, for his help in the organisation of the event, and for providing a dry set of tables ...
- Homefield Wood – 5 June 2024Jim Wills led a walk to BBOWT’s Homefield Wood reserve on the morning of Wednesday 5 June. The sun was shining brightly but there was a cold wind. Members gathered on Marlow Common, at the point where the road through Pullingshill Wood is crossed by the Chiltern Way. The walk started off westwards, following the ...
- Ashford Hill – 25 May 2024Julia Cooper and Ian Duddle organised a visit to Natural England’s Ashford Hill National Nature Reserve on Saturday 25 May. It was a welcome warm and sunny morning, after many cold or wet days. Local volunteer Bob Winfield led the walk, assisted by fellow volunteer Lorraine Cusworth. Most members met at the new car park ...
- Aldermaston Gravel Pits – 18 May 2024Following on from the Society’s successful visit in September 2023, Graham Steven of Natural England led a return visit to Aldermaston Gravel Pits on the morning of Saturday 18 May. The site is managed by Natural England. There is no public access and it is kept locked. As was expected, sightings in May were very ...
- Sonning Common – 8 May 2024Fiona Cummins led a walk to Flowercroft Wood and back, starting from the Herb Farm at Sonning Common on Wednesday 8 May. It was a warm, sunny morning, particularly welcome after a long cold and wet spring. The walk started out by turning left along busy Peppard Road, then turned right along the much quieter ...
- Bowdown Woods – 27 April 2024Roger Dobbs led a walk round BBOWT’s Bowdown Woods reserve on the cold grey morning of Saturday 27 April. The reserve lies to the north of Greenham Common, where the land slopes steeply down to the valley of the River Kennet. The visit had been timed to catch Bluebell time at its peak and parts ...
- The Coombes – 17 April 2024Fiona Brown led a circular walk round The Coombes, an area of woodland between Arborfield, Barkham and Bearwood, on the morning of Wednesday 17 April. Starting point was the Bull at Barkham. There was a cold northerly wind, but apart from a brief hail shower at the beginning, the weather was mostly bright. Before the ...
- Swain’s Wood – 6 April 2024Sally Rankin led a walk to Swain’s Wood, a permit-only BBOWT reserve between Christmas Common and Turville Heath, on the afternoon of Saturday 6 April. The weather was warm and sunny, but with a strong south-westerly wind. A Kestrel flew overhead as members gathered around the village green at Northend, before setting off down Holloway ...
- Mosses at Withymead – 23 March 2042On the afternoon of Saturday 23 March, Sean O’Leary led a walk to look at mosses and liverworts at Withymead Nature Reserve, on the east bank of the Thames between Goring and South Stoke. The weather was cloudy but not particularly cold. This site has a variety of riverside habitats and a good total of ...
- Pamber Forest – 13 March 2024Jan Haseler led a walk through Pamber Forest, starting from the Impstone Road car park, on the dull grey morning of Wednesday 13 March. Following weeks of rain, the Forest was sodden, with deep mud in places. The walk started out southwards through Lord’s Wood. This area of woodland, together with the heathland to the ...
- Sulham Woods – 21 February 2024Rob Stallard led a circular walk, starting from the Cornwell Centre on the western boundary of Tilehurst, on the morning of Wednesday 21 February. The original plan had been to look at the veteran trees of Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, but a forecast of heavy rain and gale force wind gusts had convinced Rob that ...
- Geology at Finchampstead Ridges – 3 February 2024Lesley Dunlop led a walk to look at the geology of Finchampstead Ridges on the morning of Saturday 3 February. The weather was cloudy but not particularly cold. The drumming of a woodpecker was heard as members gathered in the car park of the National Trust’s Simon’s Wood. Lesley explained that the bedrock below the ...
- Earley – 17 January 2024John Sharpe led a walk round Earley on 17 January. It was a cold morning, with the temperature just above freezing. Members met at Sol Joel park, next door to St Peter’s Church. John gave a brief history of the area and described its geology. It is the highest point in the area and lies ...
- Trees of Whiteknights CampusMarcus Wheeler led a very well attended walk to look at the trees of the Whiteknights campus of the University of Reading on Saturday 6 January. It was a cold grey morning, but after days of torrential rain and storm-force winds, the wind had dropped and the rain had ceased. The walk started from near ...
- Maidensgrove – 13 December 2023On the morning of Wednesday 13 December, Sally Rankin led a circular walk which started from the 5 Horseshoes pub at Maidensgrove. After weeks of rain, frequently heavy, the ground was saturated, although there was only occasional drizzle during the walk. It felt cold, with a strong northerly wind and a temperature of 6C. As ...
- Otmoor – 2 December 2023Alan Parfitt led a walk at Otmoor on the morning of Saturday 2 December. It was a cold foggy day with the temperature well below zero – there would be no distant views across the wetlands. Adjacent to the car park is a field where scrub had been allowed to develop and where there were ...
- Fungi at Padworth Common – 18 November 2023Mike Harrison led a fungus identification walk at Padworth Common on the morning of Saturday 18 November. The Common is managed by BBOWT, the local Wildlife Trust. Previous forecasts had been pessimistic about the amount of rain which was expected, but apart from a little light drizzle, the morning was mostly dry and surprisingly mild. ...
- Woodcote – 15 November 2023Rob Stallard led a walk around Woodcote on the morning of Wednesday 15 November, starting from the Highwayman at Exlade Street, between Woodcote and Checkendon. It was a beautiful sunny morning, following copious amounts of rain on the preceding days. Redwings were heard while the group were gathering. Turning left out of the car park, ...
