Resting little legs at Crackley Wood
Crackley Family Adventure
A short walk perfect for little legs with an activity sheet to complete along the way.
Crackley Wood is the perfect reserve for a family adventure! This small woodland has an easy to follow circular route on a wide, unsurfaced path around the perimeter. It is approximately 1km, so is perfect for little legs!
There are also 8 marker posts with brass rubbing discs for you to find along the way. Why not download and print the activity sheet to see if you can find them all and match them with their clues? Don’t forget your crayons for your brass rubbings! Afterwards click here for the answers. We would love to know how you got on so Tweet or Facebook us a photo!
Crackley Wood Activity Sheet
There are three parking options for Crackley Wood, all along Crackley Lane. Click here for full details of how to get to Crackley Wood.
Entrance from 1st car park when approaching from Kenilworth. There are designated disabled spaces.
As you approach from Kenilworth the first car park is on the right hand side of the road, the same as the reserve entrance. This is the starting point for the brass disc trail and activity sheet.
The second is the largest car park, on the left hand side of the bend in the road, so you will need to take care when crossing the road to enter the reserve through the kissing gate.
Take care when crossing the road to enter the reserve through the kissing gate.
The third is on the left hand side, where the Kenilworth Greenway crosses the road via a brick bridge.
Here you will need to walk up the slope onto the Greenway, turn right at the top and follow the Greenway towards Kenilworth (slight decline).
The reserve entrance (kissing gate) is on the right hand side, around 300 metres after joining the Greenway.
There is a clear perimeter path around the wood and each marker with a brass rubbing disc has a directional arrow to help keep you going the right way! Here are a few features you may enjoy along the way (starting from the first car park, turning left as you enter).
Be king or queen of Crackley Wood – not many adventures come with a throne ready and waiting...
Is it a rocket, a train, a castle or a pirate ship..? Let your imagination run wild at this fallen tree.
We leave dead wood as it is a vital home and food supply for many invertebrates and fungi which in turn provide food for birds and other animals.
Take the left path at this marker to get to the second car park or follow the arrow to continue around Crackley Wood.
Crackely Wood fills with flowers in spring and summer These are red campion but you may also see wood anemone, foxglove and of course a carpet of bluebells in late April - early May.
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management that works with the fact that many trees put out new shoots from their stumps when cut down. This is done in a cycle around Crackley Wood as well as many of our other woodland reserves as it is very beneficial to a huge range of wildlife. Coppicing creates a range of growth and shading within woodlands and so creates many different habitats resulting in a large range of plants and animals creating homes and so biodiversity is kept high. In newly coppiced areas, flowers such as bluebells flourish supporting butterflies, bees and other insects. Brambles often grow around the stumps which are great for insects and small mammals.
Crackley Wood is an important breeding site for the Common Frog which is why this ditch has been fenced. This protection will help to stop disturbance during the breeding season, the vegetation helps to improves access for the migrating frogs and other amphibians. This is not the only purpose of the water, it also provides a source for a range of wildlife to drink from and water edges are full of life!
Crackley Wood is home to a range of trees of varying ages: ash, beech, holly, oak, silver birch, sweet chestnut, sycamore, …how many can you identify?
