To enjoy the best that nature has to offer throughout the seasons, get your binoculars and walking boots ready and set off on one of the National Trust’s top wildlife walks. We've picked eight, located all around England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Situated on the edge of Morecambe Bay, this 500 ft limestone hill has beautiful views of the Lake District and is home to a diverse range of wildlife. The landscape was sculpted by glaciers throughout the ice age and over time the rock has been weathered into a mosaic of different habitats including woodland and rich grasslands.

Birds such as the nuthatch, marsh-tit and bullfinch can be seen in the area, and common buzzards are often spotted hovering over woodland, identifiable by their distinctive ‘mewing’ call.

The pastures, kept fertile by grazing livestock, support many wildflowers and the Knott is well known for colourful displays of orchids in late spring. Walkers should also look out for rare butterflies including the High Brown Fritillary, a protected species in Great Britain, and the dusky black Scotch Argus, which can be seen in large numbers in late July and early August.

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Photo: Silverdale and Morecambe Bay from Arnside Knott in Cumbria.© NTPL/David Noton

There are over 5,000 acres of wildlife-rich open countryside, chalk downland and woodland to explore on the main ridge of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire.

The woodlands are ablaze with bluebells in the spring, and during the autumn, fungi such as the large ‘chicken of the woods’ and red and white spotted fly agaric toadstools can be found. Woodpeckers and woodcocks are also residents and sightings of rare red kites, distinguishable by their elegant, gliding flight and deeply forked tail, and are on the increase.

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Photo: Autumn view in woods on the Ashridge Estate.©NTPL/Michael Caldwell

Walk through the woodlands at Brockhampton Estate and you will be surrounded by ancient oaks, some of which were planted during the reign of Henry VIII. In the autumn, huge nets are hung under the boughs to harvest acorns and in spring, bluebells and celandine thrive in the shade.

Brockhampton, a medieval manor house, has an agricultural history dating back to the Domesday Book and livestock such as Hereford cattle and unusual black and white Jacob sheep can be spotted on the grounds.

The old apple and damson orchards on the estate are an important habitat for over 1000 species of animal, plant and insect. Redstarts and little owls nest in hollows in the trunks of fruit trees, and dead wood provides food and shelter for insects including the rare mistletoe weevil and the metallic green noble chafer beetle. The orchards are also home to pipistrelle bats, which can be seen flitting across the meadows catching insects at dusk.

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Photo: Brockhampton Estate in autumn (house not N.T.). © NTPL/David Noton

This wildlife-rich island at the entrance of Poole Harbour in Dorset is home to one of the few remaining indigenous red squirrel colonies in the UK. Keen-eyed walkers will spot them foraging on the woodland floor, particularly in the autumn when they feed on sweet chestnuts and beech nuts.

Amid the sea lavender and spotted orchids on the island’s lagoons and reedbeds you can see kingfishers, little egrets and shy water rails, which are said to have a shrill call, reminiscent of a pig’s squeal. You may also catch a glimpse of the bar-tailed godwit, an internationally protected species of water fowl, which migrates to Western Europe from its breeding grounds in Alaska and arctic Asia. Other elusive residents of the wetlands include water voles, common lizards and Sika deer.

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Photo: Brownsea Island. © NTPL/Joe Cornish

Visitors to Calke can enjoy a peaceful walk through secret walled gardens and 600 acres of parkland. The landscape includes a rare habitat called ‘wood pasture’ which consists of open, structured woodland surrounded by grasslands filled with wildflowers and fungi. The area has some of the oldest trees in Europe, including an oak known as ‘The old man of Calke’ that is over 1,000 years old. The trees also provide nesting sites for woodland birds such as the nuthatch, tree creeper and great spotted and green woodpeckers.

There are many mammals to see in the varied habitats across Calke’s fertile landscape. Field voles, shrews and wood mice inhabit in the grasslands, and although these may be hard to spot, you might be lucky enough to see a weasel or a stoat. Look out for badger tracks on the woodland floor and fallow deer locking horns during the autumn. Calke is also a great place to see bats, with over half of the UK’s 16 species recorded there, including the Serotine bat, a rare visitor to the area.

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Photo: The South Front with the Greek Revival portico of Calke Abbey from the Park. © NTPL/Rupert Truman

On the shores of Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh lies one of the UK’s most important nature reserves. Crom’s tranquil landscape of islands, historic ruins and ancient woodland provides a haven for wildlife and is the perfect day out for nature lovers.

In the grounds of Crom Old Castle, a ruin dating back to the 1600s, you can see some of the oldest yew trees in Britain, estimated to be between 400 and 1,000 years old. It is said that during the 19th century, parties of 200 people dined beneath their branches. You can also walk through one of the largest areas of oak woodland in Northern Ireland and see unusual varieties of lichen and fungi as well as wild flowers like wood anemone and dog violets.

Crom is home to a thriving otter population and visitors hoping to see them, and other resident mammals such as the pine marten, can arrange an overnight stay in the mammal hide where they observe their behaviour without disturbing them.

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Photo: Oak tree near Crom old Castle (Crichton Tower can be glimpsed on upper Lough Erne through tree branches). Crom Castle (not NT) was built in 1832-8 for the 3rd Earl of Erne by Edward Blore. © NTPL/Joe Cornish

Enjoy glorious scenery on a walk along this six-mile stretch of coastline just south of Newquay. Sea creatures such as basking sharks, dolphins and porpoises are regular visitors to Holywell Bay and grey seals can also be seen lazing on the rocks at low tide. Their pups are born in August and can be spotted easily thanks to their white fur coats.

The sandy grasslands in the area are studied with wildflowers such as cowslips and pyramidal orchids, and in the summer months whole fields turn scarlet with poppies. The West Pentire fields are particularly important for seed eating birds like corn, snow and Lapland buntings and the grey partridge, whose numbers have declined in recent years. Thin crops of barley are sewn in some fields to ensure that they have enough food to sustain them through the winter.

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Photo: Looking back to the 'mainland' from the Rumps, one of the headlands between New Polzeath and Port Quin. The Iron Age earthworks straddling the landbridge can be clearly seen. © NTPL/Joe Cornish

Set in Pembrokeshire National Park, this six-mile walk encompasses some the UK’s most beautiful coastline. Broad Haven beach is perfect for bathing and Barafundle was voted best British beach in 2005. The windswept land behind the cliffs has been found to contain Bronze and Iron age archaeology, with ancient plough and hoof marks preserved by the sand.

Many sea birds can be seen on the cliff tops around Stackpole Head. Colonies of razorbills and guillemots nest there, and choughs - which nest in only a few sites in Britain - are an entertaining spectacle as they perform acrobatics in mid air.

There are numerous freshwater habitats around Stackpole which support over 20 species of dragonfly. Look out for colourful residents such as the Banded Demoiselle, which is noted for its brilliant metallic blue body and wings. Otters also live in the lakes, although these shy creatures can be hard to spot.

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Photo: View from Stackpole Head towards Barafundle Bay beach. © NTPL/Joe Cornish