Cophedge Wood ✦ Ancient woodland 8 ha
Plan your visit
🦉 Wildlife🦅 Birds🍂 Seasonal
Public access Free entry Dogs welcome 8 ha
Places › England › Eastern › Colchester Getting here
51.96576, 0.92380
Open directionsv Visiting this summer
Seasonal nature notes and what to look for now
▾ 🌞 Midsummer — early morning visits most comfortable; look for deer fawns in quieter clearings 🐕 Early mornings are best for dog walks in summer — visit before 9am to avoid the heat and find quieter trails 📍 Open access throughout summer — no booking required 🌤️ Visiting this summer
🌞 Midsummer — early morning visits most comfortable; look for deer fawns in quieter clearings 🐕 Early mornings are best for dog walks in summer — visit before 9am to avoid the heat and find quieter trails 📍 Open access throughout summer — no booking required £ Free to visit — no entry charge🐕 Dogs welcome🌿 Ancient woodland — rare wildlife habitat🦉 Wildlife
Very strong match
Multi-group wildlife — Birds, Mammals, Reptiles; Multi-group wildlife — Birds, Mammals, Reptiles
Free
🦅 Bird watching
Very strong match
Birds — Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Mallard +94 more · last seen 2025; Birds — Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Mallard +94 more · last seen 2025
Free
🍂 Seasonal nature
Strong match
Ancient woodland — bluebells, fungi and autumn colour; Plants — Japanese Knotweed, Creeping Buttercup, Greater Pond-sedge +75 more · last seen 2024
Free
🦋 Insect spotting
Strong match
Insects — Stag Beetle, Common Blue Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle +50 more · last seen 2024; Insects — Stag Beetle, Common Blue Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle +50 more · last seen 2024
Free
Dogs allowed — public woodland
Free
Plants — Blackthorn, Bramble, Water Mint +7 more foraging species; Deciduous woodland — fungi, berries and wild garlic
Varies
Trails nearby Within roughly 5 km 6 signed routes nearby · 6 public paths nearby
Signed route nearby Public paths
Stour Valley Path part 3 Walking route ▾
Named route Regional walking route
Show on map Flatford and Constable Country Walk, Flatford Walking route 11.2 km ▾
4 miles (6.4km) return from Manningtree to Flatford. Optional loop to Dedham adds another 3 miles (4.8km). Generally flat grass and gravel paths with some moderate slopes.
Named route Length 11.2 km Duration 03:30 Round trip Local walking route
Show on map St Edmund Way Walking route ▾
Named route Listed length 142km Regional walking route
Show on map Stour Valley Path part 2 Walking route ▾
Named route Regional walking route
Show on map Essex Way (Epping to Stratford St Mary) Walking route ▾
Named route Regional walking route
Show on map Essex Way public footpath · 1.2 km ▾
Public path public footpath Length 1.2 km Path type: footway
Show on map 19 signed routes nearby
Signed route nearby
South Suffolk Route B Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref B Regional cycle route
Show on map Highwoods Route Cycling route ▾
Named route Local cycle route
Show on map Route 48 Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref 48 Regional cycle route
Show on map South Suffolk Cycle Route A2 (Bures Loop) Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref A2 Regional cycle route
Show on map South Suffolk Cycle Route A3 (Boxford Link) Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref A3 Regional cycle route
Show on map NCN National Route 1 Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref 1 National Cycle Network
Show on map ✦ Ancient woodland — continuously wooded since at least 1600 AD. A rare and irreplaceable habitat, rich in biodiversity and historical character.
Photos Essex Way in Cophedge Wood
‹ ›
Weather for this location Next 14 days Nearby places Useful places within 5 km
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UK green spaces mapped from open public data — so anyone can find the woodland, trail, or nature reserve closest to them.
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Wildlife to spot
3,985 records · National Biodiversity Network
▾
Wildlife to spot 3,985 records · National Biodiversity Network 🐦 Birds 48 species
summer autumn
2025 ▾
Tufted Duck · Little Grebe · Gadwall · Coot · Mallard +43
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Gadwall Mareca strepera Coot Fulica atra Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Mute Swan Cygnus olor Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita House Martin Delichon urbicum Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Little Egret Egretta garzetta Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii Teal Anas crecca Stock Dove Columba oenas Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Swallow Hirundo rustica Goldcrest Regulus regulus Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major Lapwing Vanellus vanellus2024 Jackdaw Coloeus monedula2024 Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus2024 Brambling Fringilla montifringilla Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Snipe Gallinago gallinago Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus Green Woodpecker Picus viridis Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla Sand Martin Riparia riparia Dunnock Prunella modularis Robin Erithacus rubecula Rook Corvus frugilegus2024 Jay Garrulus glandarius2024 Canada Goose Branta canadensis2024 Wren Troglodytes troglodytes2024 Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata2024 Kingfisher Alcedo atthis2024 Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella2024 Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus2024 Cuckoo Cuculus canorus2024 Blackbird Turdus merula2024 Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto2023 🦌 Mammals 3 species
winter spring autumn
2025 ▾
Common Pipistrelle · Brown Long-eared Bat · Badger
Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus Brown Long-eared Bat Plecotus auritus Badger Meles meles2023 Broad-bodied Chaser · White-legged Damselfly · Banded Demoiselle · Red Ant · Myrmica scabrinodis +6
Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa2023 White-legged Damselfly Platycnemis pennipes2023 Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens2023 Red Ant Myrmica rubra Myrmica scabrinodis Myrmica scabrinodis Dusky Ant Formica fusca 🌿 Plants 22 species
spring summer
2024 ▾
Water Forget-me-not · Water Figwort · Alder · Creeping Buttercup · Great Willowherb +17
Water Forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides2023 Water Figwort Scrophularia auriculata Alder Alnus glutinosa Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum Willow Salix Species observations from the last 10 years via NBN Atlas
Wildlife to spot 3,985 records · National Biodiversity Network 🐦 Birds 48 species
summer autumn
2025 ▾
Tufted Duck · Little Grebe · Gadwall · Coot · Mallard +43
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Gadwall Mareca strepera Coot Fulica atra Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Mute Swan Cygnus olor Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita House Martin Delichon urbicum Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Little Egret Egretta garzetta Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii Teal Anas crecca Stock Dove Columba oenas Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Swallow Hirundo rustica Goldcrest Regulus regulus Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major Lapwing Vanellus vanellus2024 Jackdaw Coloeus monedula2024 Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus2024 Brambling Fringilla montifringilla Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Snipe Gallinago gallinago Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus Green Woodpecker Picus viridis Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla Sand Martin Riparia riparia Dunnock Prunella modularis Robin Erithacus rubecula Rook Corvus frugilegus2024 Jay Garrulus glandarius2024 Canada Goose Branta canadensis2024 Wren Troglodytes troglodytes2024 Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata2024 Kingfisher Alcedo atthis2024 Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella2024 Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus2024 Cuckoo Cuculus canorus2024 Blackbird Turdus merula2024 Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto2023 🦌 Mammals 3 species
winter spring autumn
2025 ▾
Common Pipistrelle · Brown Long-eared Bat · Badger
Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus Brown Long-eared Bat Plecotus auritus Badger Meles meles2023 Broad-bodied Chaser · White-legged Damselfly · Banded Demoiselle · Red Ant · Myrmica scabrinodis +6
Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa2023 White-legged Damselfly Platycnemis pennipes2023 Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens2023 Red Ant Myrmica rubra Myrmica scabrinodis Myrmica scabrinodis Dusky Ant Formica fusca 🌿 Plants 22 species
spring summer
2024 ▾
Water Forget-me-not · Water Figwort · Alder · Creeping Buttercup · Great Willowherb +17
Water Forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides2023 Water Figwort Scrophularia auriculata Alder Alnus glutinosa Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum Willow Salix Species observations from the last 10 years via NBN Atlas
Small Black Ant Lasius niger
Small Black Ant Lasius niger
Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator2023
Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator2023
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella2023
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella2023
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans2023
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans2023
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum2023
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum2023 Creeping Bent
Creeping Bent
Agrostis stolonifera
Agrostis stolonifera
Changing Forget-me-not Myosotis discolor
Changing Forget-me-not Myosotis discolor
Small-flowered Buttercup Ranunculus parviflorus
Small-flowered Buttercup Ranunculus parviflorus
Bird's-foot Clover Trifolium ornithopodioides
Bird's-foot Clover Trifolium ornithopodioides
Bulrush Typha latifolia2023
Bulrush Typha latifolia2023
Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea2023
Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea2023
Common Reed Phragmites australis2023
Common Reed Phragmites australis2023
Branched Bur-reed Sparganium erectum2023
Branched Bur-reed Sparganium erectum2023
Flowering-rush Butomus umbellatus2023
Flowering-rush Butomus umbellatus2023
Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis2023
Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis2023
Purple-loosestrife Lythrum salicaria2023
Purple-loosestrife Lythrum salicaria2023
Marsh Woundwort Stachys palustris2023
Marsh Woundwort Stachys palustris2023
Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense2023
Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense2023
Soft-rush Juncus effusus2023
Soft-rush Juncus effusus2023
False Fox-sedge Carex otrubae2023
False Fox-sedge Carex otrubae2023
Water-pepper Persicaria hydropiper2023
Water-pepper Persicaria hydropiper2023 