Things to see at
Panshanger Park
Panshanger Lane Car Park
follow post code
SG14 2TS
Thieves Lane Car Park
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SG14 2WN
Owned and managed by Tarmac and located in the heart of Hertfordshire, this 1,000-acre park combines the beauty of natural landscapes with rich historical features, creating a unique and accessible environment for recreation, relaxation, and learning.
Osprey Lake
Osprey Lake is one of the best areas for watching wildlife in the park. After a gravel and sand extraction ceased, the lake was restored and allowed to revert back to nature. The previously quarried area has since filled with groundwater and the surrounding vegetation, including marsh and reedbed, has grown naturally.
Look out for:
Little grebes (Year-round)
Tufted ducks (Year-round)
Gadwall (Winter)
Sedge warblers (Summer)
Hobbies (Summer)
Ospreys (September – for Autumn migration)
Lady Hughes Wood
One of several woodlands in the park, Lady Hughes Wood was planted in the 19th century to create the setting for a new east-west driveway to Panshanger House. It is now the best woodland in the park to enjoy a carpet of bluebells in the spring.
Look out for:
Bluebell displays (Spring)
Great spotted woodpeckers (Year round)
Treecreepers (Year round)
Speckled wood butterflies (Summer)
Red admiral butterflies (Summer)
River Mimram
The River Mimram is a chalk stream that runs through Panshanger Park. Chalk streams are very rare, with only around 200 in the world, three in England, two have 85% of the world's total, making them the UK equivalent of tropical rainforests!
The River Mimram is very special as it provides a home for a wealth of wildlife, from aquatic insects to fish and birds such as kingfishers. Water voles live in the grassy banks and otters use the river to move through the Mimram Valley.
Look out for:
Banded demoiselle damselflies (summer)
Kingfishers (Year-round)
Water voles (Year-round)
Brown trout (Year-round)
Water crowfoot (summer)
Veteran Trees
Panshanger Park is home to over 500 veteran trees. Veteran trees are classified as very old, in an ancient stage of their life, or with high biological, aesthetic or cultural interest. They may also have characteristics such as root holes, split bark, dead wood or hollowing of the trunk.
All these characteristics make veteran trees very important for wildlife. They can support a huge number of species such as insects, beetles, fungi, mosses and lichens that rely on dead and rotting wood. Many birds and bats also nest and roost in the cavities they find in veteran trees.
Read more about the Panshanger Great Oak
