This summer marks our sixth year in Surrey. While we’ll always have a fondness for the big smoke, that pre-parenting life seems such a long time ago now. We wouldn’t change it for the world though, five year old POD has grown up in the countryside, just as we did albeit in different counties.
We spend much of our spare time exploring the great outdoors. It’s good for the soul breathing in fresh air and blowing away the cobwebs. You’d think we’d have discovered every nook and cranny in Surrey by now but as it happens that’s not the case. Riverside Park and Nature Reserve is just north of Guildford, situated in-between the A3 and the River Wey. It’s an 80 hectare nature conservation area which is owned, managed and funded by the local council. A beautiful mosiac of meadow, wetland, open water and woodland habitats with birds, amphibians and insects aplenty. There are footpaths and boardwalks to discover too so it’s a great spot for family walks, picnics and cycling especially.
We opted to take the woodland route with the view to walking around the lake and checking out the boardwalks we’d heard about along the way. There are lovely touches heading in this direction like a wooden dragonfly which made for a great pit stop with views of the lake. We reached the meadow with its flora and fauna not long afterwards which also had a picnic area. The open water providing a habitat for birds and fish plus we saw loads of ducks!
Having headed round the far end of the lake, we reached the serenity of the wetland area. The boardwalk was built to ensure the low lying areas are protected. It’s a superb spot with winding paths, wooden bridges and benches adorned with carvings. It’s a habitat with a wide range of birds, amphibians and insects and we did spot some impressive dragonflies. I suspect POD scared off the birds, five year olds aren’t renowned for being the quietest!
There are an assortment of reeds and grasses in the wetland area, there’s the most fabulous smell too. We pretty much had the boardwalk all to ourselves, aside from a few cyclists, so it was lovely to be able to take it in. The weather was certainly on our side for a time too, the greenery around us coupled with the blue skies overhead. The boardwalk area is surprisingly quiet, the winding paths leading us to a lovely bird watching area where POD looked for wildlife through port holes.
Having investigated the boardwalk and wetlands area, we headed back along the lake towards the car park. We managed to pass a few cows resting under a tree by a gate to end our wander by the side of the River Wey. What a fabulous spot located a stones throw away from Guildford Town Centre.
Beautiful place, my children and grand children and parents have over the years visited here many times, learning about nature. They always referred to it as the Humps and Bumps leading to all that beauty from Slyfield. It is a peaceful and tranquil place and holds so many memories, we are so lucky to have such a place on our doorstep.