Nature Trail
Our Nature Trail is designed for individuals and small family groups to enjoy independently. We hope to develop new features on the trail as time goes on and of course it will change with the seasons, so do keep coming back. Please sign in at our Farm Shop (open 10am-5pm Mon-Sat) and tag us in your photos #wildbosavern so that we can show our funders (Forest for Cornwall) how people are using the trail. All under 18s to be accompanied by an adult please and all dogs to be kept on a lead. To discuss a group farm visit, please contact us.
This Nature Trail has been a Bosavern ambition for many, many years so to celebrate we are holding a special one-off guided launch event Friday 23rd May 2025; everybody welcome!
Plan your Visit
Why not download the ORKS app so that you can record any wildlife you see while you are here (& elsewhere!).
We recommend that you wear:
– sturdy shoes (boots in winter, trainers in summer)
– weather-appropriate clothes (waterproofs if windy/cold or wet)
– hats (beanies in winter, sun hats in summer)
– long trousers all year round
– In June we also recommend wearing long sleeves and pale colours to help deter the horseflies
If you bring a picnic to enjoy in the Community Woodland or the Secret Glade, please bring a bag to take any rubbish home with you.
We have never had any incidents of ticks on the farm to date, but deer have been spotted so we advise keeping legs covered as a prevention against Lyme’s disease. We suggest you check your legs carefully after your walk. If you do find any ticks, do not pull them as this will leave part of the the tick embedded in your skin, instead use the correct tool (we have one on site in our first aid kit) and follow the NHS technique to remove ticks.
Adders have been spotted in some of our wilder woodland areas and love to sunbathe on exposed soil, typically on top of hedgerows. These will not bother you providing you give them a wide berth. Please speak to any children about this before setting off and keep dogs on a lead at all times. NHS advice on snake bites here.
All under 18s must be accompanied by an adult please.
How to find us
Footpath from St Just Bus Station to the farm
The Nature Trail Route
You can download our Nature Trail map here: FARM MAP & TRAIL and some suggested quests here: Nature Trail Quest.
Route Description
Start exploring the trail marked in yellow dots as shown on the map displayed on The Cabin wall, follow the yellow way-markers continuing East, straight through the centre of Home Field, keeping The Cabin on your right. As you exit Home Field, turn immediately left uphill past both our chicken field (please keep all dogs on a lead throughout your walk) and past our main crop field where you will see our recently planted ‘shelter belts’ of tree saplings. At the top of our farm you will see our special wildflower meadows, home to a rich diversity of grasses, flowers and insects. These top fields offer views of the Scilly Isles on a clear day! Follow the way-markers past the Weather Station in a field which we are intentionally leaving to go to scrub (to demonstrate natural regeneration of trees over time), head into the young community woodland and see if you can discover The Secret Glade, have a good rootle around the woodland to spot our ‘scrapes’, enjoy our open glades, den building and more!
When you emerge from the woodland through the willow archway, you will see views to your left of the special moorland nature reserve called Bartinney. You are now in an open grassland habitat where you can try your balance on our stepping stone log pathway. At this point on the Nature Trail you can either take a short return route diagonally across the grassy field towards Home Field, or you can continue heading South along the outer perimeter hedge, over our new stile, diagonally across the next field to visit our Standing Stone (or is it a cattle scratching post?!). Here you can see the tree line in the upper reaches of the Cot Valley. Turning right from Standing Stone field, please take care to pass very quietly through the allotment field, keeping close to the uphill edge. Turn right at the end of the allotment field, through a small gateway, and continue carefully along the Western boundary hedge of our Market Garden, checking for hose-pipes and other trip hazards and closing all gates behind you as you go. After the polytunnels you will exit the Market Garden by turning left through a gateway, and find yourself back in Home Field walking alongside our Tree Nursery and Wildflower Propagation areas back towards the car park.
Handout Downloads
All our signs are available as downloads here:
Nature Recovery
Nature is a big part of farming sustainably. We are working hard to increase the diversity of species on the farm and you can help at home and at school too. Find our more about nature recovery here and sign up to our podcast to hear our own volunteers plus visiting expert guests discussing these topics in depth.
Twist & Sprout Podcast Episodes
Twist & Sprout episode 3: Go Wild: Planting Wildflowers to Encourage Biodiversity with Nick Hall
Twist & Sprout episode 4: Go Wild: Planting Wildflowers to Encourage Biodiversity with Ash Pearson
Twist & Sprout episode 6: The Tree Episode