About Us

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Based just outside Hingham, Norfolk, Woodland Tales Forest School is a base for exploring nature and promoting health and wellbeing for all ages!

Our beautiful little patch of woodland hosts a range of groups suitable for babies right through to older adults.

Connect with nature, get some fresh air, make friends and feel part of a warm and supportive community.

Look out for our up coming workshops - mushroom foraging, wine tasting, cheese making, Halloween crafts, Christmas crafts and more!

FOREST FITNESS has started!

Run by Alice Dunnett (qualified Personal Trainer)

Saturday mornings 9am 

Bring the kids

Book online via www.bookwhen.com/alicedunnettpt

Some of the things happening in nature this month...

 The 21st of June is the summer solstice. This is when we have the longest day with the sun rising earliest and setting latest. At this time of year insect life is at its most abundant. It is a great time to get to know moths, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and all our other amazing minibeasts! Summer is also a great time to get to the seashore to investigate rockpools and to see what wild treasures the tide has washed up.  

 This month, nature’s special places are buzzing and blooming with noise and colour. From wildflower meadows swaying with bees and butterflies to riverbanks dancing with damselflies and dragonflies, it’s time to discover July’s treasures. 

July is a good month to look out for moths, as many are now on the wing. While most moth species are nocturnal and so fly at night, there are plenty of day-flying moths to look out for. In fact, here in the UK there are actually more day-flying moths than there are butterflies.  

One colourful species that is found throughout most of the UK is the Cinnabar moth, so named for the red on their hindwings and markings on their forewings. Their black and yellow caterpillars are often found munching their way through Common Ragwort. Head to grasslands and heathlands to look for them. Another red and black moth found in grasslands is the Six-spot Burnet. You can identify it by counting the six spots on each forewing – but be warned, sometimes the outmost spots can merge together.  

Plantlife’s National Meadows Day is celebrated on Saturday 6 July and it’s a reminder that meadows are now at their midsummer best. Under the summer sun a wildflower meadow blooms and buzzes with life as flowers blossom and insects flit from plant to plant. One plant to look out for and a favourite with bees and butterflies is Common Knapweed. Although these purple-headed plants may look like thistles, they are not prickly.  

Also look out for Common Spotted Orchids. This is the UK’s most common orchid and found in many different habitats including grasslands, woodlands and marshes. Look for their towering spikes of pink flowers and spotty green leaves. Day-flying moths are often attracted to their highly perfumed flowers. 

The long, warm summer evenings are an ideal time to look for bats. Two of the most common in the UK are the Common Pipistrelle and Soprano Pipistrelle. Once thought to be the same species, these can be told apart by the frequency at which they call, with Sopranos being the higher pitched of the pair – although you will need a bat detector to determine this. Watch for bats around sunset, as it is around this time that they emerge from their roosts in search of flies and other insects to eat. Both are often seen near rivers or ponds, where insects are found in abundance.  

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/natures-calendar/natures-calendar-july