Overview

I went to The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre for lunch followed by a stroll along the Waterfall Trail and up to the Red Squirrel Hide. I really enjoyed all the sculptures we spotted along the route, like the deer, the female figure and the mirrored silhouettes. The cafe was spacious with a good selection including pies, baked potatoes and toasties. It is also a good place for watching people on the Go Ape ziplines!

Transport & Parking

There are around 5 accessible spaces near the visitor centre. There are lots of other parking options dotted around the pond. Usually there is a charge for parking but this was not the case when we visited.

Access

Ramp access to the visitor centre and cafe with automatic doors at the entrance. The toilets are in a separate building with level access. The most accessible route, the Waterfall Trail is well marked. There are a few slopes but the surface was firm and in good condition. I don't believe the scooters are available right now as only cafe staff are working at present. Access to the red squirrel hide is more tricky with a steep incline, I think that maybe it would be suitable for scooter users but it might be difficult for manual wheelchair users. Once in the hide there is a cut out so that wheelchair users can position themselves close to the lookout. We did spot two red squirrels and lots of birds while we were there.

Toilets

The toilets were operating on a one in one out policy when I visited. This meant that the block of toilets was gender neutral and the accessible toilet is found within the block. It was spacious with a good layout.

Staff

As I mentioned, the only staff we saw were in the cafe. They were helpful and wore masks.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Hand sanitizer at the entrance. People wore masks when moving around the Visitor Centre cafe. There are foot markings in the cafe to keep people queuing a safe distance apart. You order at a small kiosk with a screen between you and the member of staff. They brought our food out to us. People on the paths were good at moving out of the way to let people move past them. There were signs to say that all features were cleaned daily.

Photos