Wildlife
An ancient and fragile habitat
This tree is 1,200 years old and resides at Calke
© National Trust
During a visit to Calke, escape into the ancient and fragile habitats of Calke Park and its National Nature Reserve.
Calke Park has a rich and varied landscape, from rolling grassland to ancient oaks. About a third of the park is a National Nature Reserve, recognised in 2004 due to the quality of its wood pasture, one of our rarest habitats. Some of the trees here are among the oldest in Europe – two of the oaks are over 1,000 years old.
Ancient trees walk
Discover some of the oldest trees in Europe as these ancient inhabitants of Calke parkland unfold to tell their stories.
Deer shelter trail
Explore Calke's parkland and discover a preserved 18th-century deer shelter on this pleasant amble through an ancient landscape.
Staunton Harold walk
Enjoy a delightful stroll around Calke Park's Staunton Harold Reservoir, taking in the sites of St Giles Church and Calke Abbey itself.
This season
Calke Park emerges from its winter hibernation around mid-March, as our resident sheep flock start giving birth to their lambs.
Through the seasons
Summer
By early summer our traditional hay meadows, unspoilt by modern pesticides or fertilisers, are home to over 60 species of flowering plants including salad burnet, pignut, birds-foot and lesser trefoils, black medick, twayblade and creeping cinquefoil.
Autumn
Autumn is a great time to visit Calke Park – the parkland looks beautiful as the leaves gradually change colour to every shade of red, yellow and brown.
Winter
Even in winter, Calke Park is a beautiful place to visit. The trees, despite having lost all their leaves, look beautiful against the winter skyline, particularly the gnarled shapes of the stag-headed oaks.
Explore more
Traditional oak leaf as found at Calke in the summer
Go green and explore what The National Forest has to offer.
Did you know Calke Abbey is located in the heart of The National Forest? Generating a new forest for the nation, The National Forest promotes the creation and preservation of wildlife habitats - something very dear to our hearts here at Calke.
Check out what they get up to on their website (opens in new window)