Mere Sands Wood

I saw my first kingfisher here!
Lovely place for a walk with lots of hides to observe the birds. Good footpaths and quite a few benches but shortage of picnic benches (possibly deliberately)
The visitors centre and cafe was closed due to Covid-19 but they had thoughtfully opened the toilets by the conference room.
Definitely a great nature reserve with an interesting history.

What a stunning hidden gem. Nice visitors centre and cafe. Unspoilt nature. Car park £4 fantastic value.

Absolutely lovely, kept in really good condition and is a lovely route. We went in the evening and all the birds were so noisy we loved it!
Dogs are allowed but must be kept on leads
Parking is £4 regardless of how long you stay
You can walk around anytime, the route is always open, however the cafe/ visitors area closes.

Never knew this was on our doorstep. Lovely walk, lots of nature/wildlife to keep you occupied. Lovely visitors centre if you forget your sandwiches! £4 all day parking

Lovely location for nature walks but disappointed with car parking. Used contactless on phone to pay but machine did not give ticket receipt, so checked with centre staff who said payment had gone through. Checked with bank later to find no record of payment. Did not want to risk the punative fine that the parking management company charge, so paid online (extra admin charge included). Centre needs to get ticket machines fixed.

Parking at Mere Sands was £1.50 this time last year. Our first visit in 12 months and we find the charge has increased to £4. While this effectively covers an "all day" stay, even at a push, we would struggle to pass 2 hours here. It would make more sense if parking was charged per hour, with the maximum fee of £4 for the very few people who would choose to spend the day here.

Signs stating "improvements" being made however, there are few visible improvements, with the exception of the visitors centre. I would rather support the site by visiting the cafe of by purchasing from the gift shop, or by making a volunteer donation.

Visitors could be encouraged to use the facilities by receiving a money off voucher to the value of parking when spending over £5 in the cafe.

There are few changes to be seen when walking through the woods, which are some of the most uninteresting woods I've visited.

There are a few uncomfortable benches and a couple of picnic tables.

While the area has some interesting fungi in autumn, with the exception of a few ducks, there is little to be seen here in terms of wildlife.

Dogs are welcome here on leads. As usual, many dog owners ignore this and allow their dogs to charge around jumping over people and scaring the few birds to be seen. Not everyone likes dogs sniffing around their children.

Using the increased "cost of living" to justify an increase in parking is ridiculous. There are many parks within a 20 minute drive which provide value for money for those struggling during the current economic climate. Worden Park and Astley Park provide a full day of entertainment with free park

Lovely place to walk & relax
Cafe available for a snack

Went to see if suitable for walking the dog. Caught for a £4 parking ticket on entry with no apparent way of avoiding it. Enforced by private company so unwilling to take risk of leaving without coughing up.