to Forestry Commission home page
to England home page

Top Lodge Fineshade Wood


(Average user rating: 5 Stars 4.7/5)

About Top Lodge Fineshade Wood

Top Lodge at Fineshade Woods is an ambitious partnership redevelopment project, which has used local and natural materials and the latest renewable energy design, to develop 18th Century buildings into a state of the art recreation and information complex. The site offers visitors a unique opportunity to get inside the local environment, to explore it, to see local wildlife up close, and learn about local crafts and the heritage of the area. The visitor centre is open daily from 10am to 5pm summer, 4pm winter. You can walk the trails then refresh yourself at the Lodge Cafe, or browse in the RSPB shop. There are a host of activities and events throughout the year for people of all ages to enjoy. The vast majority of the materials used for the development were local and naturally sourced, including green oak and ash timber from sustainably-managed ancient woodlands. Sheep's wool has been used as eco-friendly roof insulation material. The site also has one of the biggest reed bed sewerage systems in the country, with an organic five-tier cleansing process, as well as a rain water collection system, and a wood-fuel heating system supplied from the surrounding forest. Real Christmas Tree Sales - Don't forget to purchase your Real Christmas Tree from the Forestry Commission from Top Lodge from 29th Nov - 23rd Dec. See related pages links for more details.

How to get there:

Top Lodge Fineshade Wood is in Fineshade Wood which is part of Rockingham Forest. Stamford (Lincolnshire) is the nearest town or village.

Top Lodge and Fineshade are signposted from the A43, between Stamford and Corby, opposite the turning for Wakerley Woods. The postcode for SatNavs and Route Finders is NN17 3BB.

OS Grid Reference: SP 980 983
For details of public transport visit http://www.transportdirect.info

Other places to go in Fineshade Wood

What's on in Rockingham Forest

July

View all events

Visitors eating in the Courtyard at Top lodge Visitor Centre

Facilities:

ToiletsParking ChargeInformationEasy AccessVisitor CentreRefreshmentsOther Facilities
Visitor Centre

The new visitor centre is open from 10am to 5pm daily (except Christmas Day).The RSPB centre sells a range of goods from binoculars to bird feeders. Outside are places to picnic and an exciting Wildplay area. The Little Barn, a beautifully restored Grade II listed building, is available for hire for talks, meetings and conferences. Please contact the district office for details.
Refreshments

The Lodge cafe is open 7 days a week, serving a wide range of home cooked food.
Other Facilities

The car par is pay and display. The charge is £2.00 per car. There is an additional 20p administration charge if you choose to pay by phone. Toilets are located in the entrance atrium of the Visitor Centre.

Activities

Horse RidingPicnicPlay Area
Walking Mill Wood Trail
The Smelters' Walk
Dales Wood Trail
Cycling Family Cycle Trail
Educational A joint Forestry Commission and RSPB education programme is run from Top Lodge Visitor Centre. For more details please contact the office on the details below.
Wildlife Activities Red kites can be seen most days throughout the year. Live footage from Red Kite nesting sites can be seen in the on site RSPB shop and big barn during the breeding season. There is a wildlife hide in the woods.
Orienteering The wood has been mapped for orienteering and is available for club events.
Other Activities The Little Barn, a beautifully restored Grade II listed building, is available for hire for conferences, meetings and talks. Please contact the district office for details.

Contact:

Northants Office

01780 444920
e-mail: northants@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

User Comments

Name: m j spencer (5 Stars)
5/Jun/2009
I am disabled and the access to all or the site with my scooter is first class
Name: Roni (3 Stars)
31/May/2009
I came with my grandchildren on Thursday 28th May. I wanted to see the red kites. The information said that there were activities for children and adults so I was sure there would be plenty for the children to see and do. We enjoyed ourselves - but were disappointed to find on our arrival that the only thing for children - bird-watching - had been at 10.30a.m. We had travelled quite a way, as I am sure had many others. It was disappointing to find that we had missed everything by arriving at midday. It would have been helpful to give timing on the webste - we checked it before travelling.
Could not this activity have been repeated in the afternoon?
Forestry Commission Response:
The dates and times of the event are located on the event page.
http://fcnotes/website/ourwoods.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/EnglandNorthamptonshireRockinghamForestFineshadeWoodRSPBBirdWatchingforKids?opendocument
Name: Anonymous (5 Stars)
17/May/2009
Magnificent - even in the rain! Safe, easy to follow trails. You can leave the world behind and relax!
More user comments

Been here, done this? What did you think?

Tell us what you think of this place.

Email addresses will not be shown