Stoke Lock and Woods

What to spot at Stoke Lock

Wildlife: Woodland birds and flowers, including woodpecker, tree creepers, bullfinch, foxglove, red campion and celandine.
Opening times: Open all year.
Access/Conditions: Woodland paths and towpath. Wheelchair access is available on the main pathway.
Facilities: Picnic tables by the edge of the woodland provide a perfect view over the River Trent. The site has two audio posts and an interpretation board.
How to get there: Situated off Stoke Lane, in Stoke Bardolph, Nottingham. Turn off the A612 onto Stoke Lane to reach the lock.
Parking: Park at the Severn Trent visitor car park on Stoke Lane. Follow the tarmac track parallel to the river for just under a mile to reach the lock and woods.
Grid reference: SK 649 407

The woodland by Stoke Lock, on the River Trent, is a pretty and special place. Trees of many different types, including ash, hazel, beech and grey poplar, help to provide a variety of habitats for wild animals, plants and insects. Both the green woodpecker and the great spotted woodpecker frequent the woodland, whilst by night pipistrelle, Daubenton’s and noctule bats fly over the trees and lock. Wildflowers planted by local school children mingle with the wood’s own carpet of flowers to provide year-round colour.

Stoke Lock was built in 1927 by around 500 sailors and soldiers who had returned from the First World War. The woodland was planted shortly after the lock was completed to provide a windbreak for the barges coming through the lock, making them easier to manoeuvre. The River Trent was important to the surrounding industrial towns and was used to transport petrol into Nottingham and newsprint into Derby.