Whether you're well-acquainted with the green spaces in your area or looking to discover new ones, this is the perfect time to explore and enjoy the benefits of nature. Here’s a list to provide you with inspiration and ideas:
- Go orienteering (Cutteslowe Park and Shotover Country Park)
Where: Cutteslowe Park: Harbord Road, North Oxford OX2 8ES and A40 (North Way) OX2 7XD
Shotover Country Park: Old Road, Headington OX3 8TA - Visit Bury Knowle Park for the C S Lewis themed wooden sculptures set against the backdrop of the historic Bury Knowle House
Where: London Road, Headington, OX3 9HZ - Visit Hinksey Park late in the evening to see the sun set behind the lake and watch the bats come out to feed
Where: Abingdon Rd, South Oxford OX1 4RR - Take a walk in the woods at Shotover Country Park
Where: Old Road, Headington OX3 8TA - Visit Brasenose Wood and Slade Camp for a gentle woodland walk on flat, level pathways
Where: End of Horspath Driftway, cross over Eastern Bypass OX4 2FF - Enjoy the wide open spaces of Port Meadow and play Pooh Sticks from the bailey bridge
Where: Walton Well Road, Jericho OX2 6ED
Or over the railway bridge from Aristotle Lane OX2 6TP
Godstow Road Wolvercote OX2 8PU - Visit the historic ruins of Godstow Abbey
Where: Godstow Lock, Godstow Rd, Wolvercote OX2 8PJ - Go for a riverside walk at Sunnymead Park and meadow
Where: Wren Road OX2 7SX - Spot the fossils at Rock Edge rock face in the nature reserve
Where: Old Road, Headington OX3 8NE - Get a book from a library or a charity shop and go out and teach yourself to identify the major species of trees, flowers or butterflies etc.
- Hold home schooling outdoor classrooms to teach children about nature and conservation
- Enjoy the views of the city and it’s dreaming spires from top of South Park
Where: Morrell Avenue (opposite Cross Street) OX4 1NT
Headington Road (opposite entrance to Headington Hill park) OX3 0ED
Top of Cheney Lane, Headington OX3 7QJ
Warneford Lane (near the roundabout that leads to Divinity Road) OX3 7JX - View the stars at night from South Park which is an official dark sky discovery location
Where: Morrell Avenue (opposite Cross Street) OX4 1NT
Headington Road (opposite entrance to Headington Hill park) OX3 0ED
Top of Cheney Lane, Headington OX3 7QJ
Warneford Lane (near the roundabout that leads to Divinity Road) OX3 7JX - Wander through the Trap Grounds nature area in North Oxford
Where: Frenchay Road, North Oxford OX2 6TF - As part of trips to Hinksey or Aristotle Lane Parks take the kids to stand on the adjacent railway bridges to enjoy the thrill of the trains going under their feet
Where: Hinksey Park: Lake Street (off Abingdon Rd) OX1 4RW
Aristotle: Aristotle Lane, North Oxford OX2 6TP - Follow one of the nature-rich Oxford Tree Trails, or make your own!
Where: various locations across Oxford, including Florence Park, Hinksey Heights and Hogacre Common - Find Tolkein’s grave at Wolvercote Cemetery
Where: Banbury Road, Cutteslowe OX2 8EE - Take a stroll off the beaten track in Warneford Meadow
Where: Roosevelt Drive Headington OX3 7XR
Hill Top Road OX4 1PD - Go butterfly spotting at Cutteslowe Park community woodland
Where: Harbord Road, North Oxford OX2 8NP - Go Skateboarding at Meadow Lane, Sunnymead or Fry’s Hill Parks
Where: Meadow Lane, East Oxford OX4 1TJ
Sunnymead: Wren Rd, OX2 7SX
Fry’s Hill: Moorhen Walk, Greater Leys OX4 7WU - See what’s in the ponds at Millham Ford or Rivermead Nature Parks
Where: Millham Ford: Marston Road OX3 0FL
Rivermead Road, Rose Hill OX4 4UP - Find the dragons sculptures at Magdalen Wood West and Spindleberry Nature Park
Where: Magdalen Wood West: Atkyns Road, Wood Farm OX3 8RA
Spindleberry Close, Blackbird Leys OX4 6DU. - Visit Raleigh Park in Botley and view the ‘dreaming spires’
Where: Harcourt Hill, Raleigh Park Road and Yarnells Hill, Botley OX2 9AS - Explore the extensive Iffley Meadow Nature Reserve
Where: Donnington Bridge Rd OX1 4UP - See how many species of dragonfly you can spot at Barton Linear Park’s wetland area
Where: Barton Village Road OX3 9LA - Walk the boardwalks through a reed beds at Chilswell and Lye Valleys
Where: Chilswell Path, South Hinksey OX1 5AP
Lye valley: entrance adjacent to 169 The Slade, Headington OX3 7HP - Discover Aston’s Eyot, a large, hidden, semi- wild green space just a stone’s throw from the busy Iffley Road
Where: Entrance by the side of the scrapyard at the bottom of Jackdaw Lane (off the Iffley Road OX4 1SR) - Visit Oxford City Farm for a volunteering session or just to look around, check out when they’re open on the Oxford City Farm website
Where: pedestrian access through the car park of the residential care home Cornwallis Road, OX4 3NH - Play table-tennis on the tables provided in Florence, Bury Knowle, Cowley Marsh, Botley or Cutteslowe Parks (bring your own bats and balls)
Where: Florence Park: Rymers Lane, Cowley OX4 3JZ
Bury Knowle: London Road, Headington OX3 9HZ
Cutteslowe: Harbord Road OX2 8NP - Organise a family or household game of cricket using the artificial wickets at Cowley Marsh, Grandpont or Botley parks
Where: Marsh Road, Cowley OX4 2HH
Grandpont Recreational Ground, Whitehouse Road OX1 4QH
Botley Road OX2 0BT - Organise a family or household game of rounders at your local park
- Go and see the wonderful murals on the canal bridges at Frenchay Road and Elizabeth Jennings Way
Where: Frenchay Road OX2 7AF
Elizabeth Jennings Way OX2 9PZ - Go for a long walk around Burgess Field (off Port Meadow) and listen to bird song
Where: Access via Port Meadow, Walton Well Road OX2 6ED – follow the path to the right
Or over the railway bridge from Aristotle Lane OX2 6TP and follow the raised path to right on the meadow - Join a conservation volunteer session with Oxford Conservation Volunteers
- Take a photo of your favourite spot or wildlife you see and share with us on social media
- Do a drawing/painting of your favourite spot or individual plants or flowers etc. and share with us on social media
- Have a picnic lunch in a different park each day/weekend
- Explore St Sepulchres and Holywell historic cemeteries with their many unusual gravestones
Where: Accessed via narrow alley beside Londis Store 81 Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6EA
Holywell: 10 St Cross Road OX1 3TU - Study outdoors in a peaceful park location
- Use picturesque park backdrops to take family group or post-wedding service photos
- Go fly a kite on a windy day
- Play Frisbee
- Play hide and seek
- Go on a bug hunt in your local nature area
- Learn how to play hopscotch - lots of active fun for just the price of a piece of chalk to mark out the game on the path in your local park
- Use coloured chalk to create artwork on the path in your local park
- Join Oxford Rocks UK on Facebook - paint a rock, hide it and make someone’s day when they find it
- Go geocaching - the world’s largest treasure hunt
- Climb a tree (or just hug one if you don’t like heights)
- Go cloud watching - just lay on your back in your local park, relax and enjoy one of nature’s greatest art shows. This can become addictive, and you may also want to start learning about their different characteristics, names and why and how they form
- Get fit and lose weight - no need to spend money joining a gym, half an hour to an hour doing walking circuits of your local park each day works wonders for your physical and mental health
- Collect blackberries (mid/late Aug) and conkers (late Sept/early Oct)
- Enjoy the autumn colours in Florence, Bury Knowle and Headington Hill parks
Where: Florence Park: Rymers Lane OX4 3JZ
Bury Knowle: London Road, Headington OX3 9HZ
Headington Hill: Headington Road OX3 0ED - Collect leaves and twigs and make a collage or draw round different shaped leaves collected to create artwork
- Go fungi spotting in Shotover County Park (October) - but please look/photograph but don’t touch
Where: Old Road, Headington OX3 8NE
