Wildlife Hides in and Around the Lake District

11 November 2026

Leighton Moss RSPB, Silverdale

Leighton Moss, near Silverdale in Lancashire, just south of the Lake District, has the largest reedbed in north-west England. The RSPB says it has seven hides and one viewpoint, all open from dawn to dusk.

Lilian's, Tim Jackson, Grisedale, Causeway and Lower hides overlook the reedbed. The Allen and Eric Morecambe hides look over the saltmarsh and Morecambe Bay from a separate car park, a mile from the visitor centre, with a 2m height limit. The 9m Skytower gives a view over the reserve and the bay beyond.

All the hides have step-free access and are wheelchair accessible, and most have lower windows. The trails are mostly flat, and all of them except the path to Lower Hide are fully accessible. RSPB members go in free. Non-members pay £10 for an adult, £7 for a student and £5 for a child aged 5 to 17; 16 to 24 year olds, the first child and under-5s are free, and non-members who arrive by public transport or bike pay £5.

In early November 2026 the RSPB's sightings page reported bitterns from the Lower and Causeway hides most days, otters from the Causeway, Lower and Lilian's hides, and marsh harriers from most hides.

Wild Haweswater: two hides you book

Wild Haweswater, the RSPB's restoration partnership with United Utilities in the eastern fells, has no public hides or designated viewpoints. It does have two hides you book in advance.

The RSPB's Badger Watching Hide is a new hide, opened in 2024 over an area badgers already use. It is open from April to October, and you book a session through the Wild Haweswater events pages. The RSPB says badgers can come within a metre of the hide, which has ramps for wheelchair users and a parking space beside it.

Wild Intrigue's Woodland Wildlife Hide, run by one of the RSPB's partners at Wild Haweswater, is open from November to June and is also booked in advance.

Everything else at Haweswater is done on foot, on the public footpaths and bridleways from Mardale Head car park.

Whinlatter Forest: the Wow Trail nature hide

Forestry England's Wow Trail at Whinlatter Forest has a nature hide for spotting the forest's wildlife. Forestry England names red squirrels, deer, badgers and foxes among the animals in the forest.

The trail is 4.5 miles long and starts at the visitor centre (CA12 5TW). It follows surfaced paths with no stiles, steps or gates, though some slopes are steep. It also looks across Bassenthwaite Lake, which Forestry England says has been home to ospreys for over 20 years. The main car park is open from 8.30am to 8.30pm.

Viewing platforms for ospreys

Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria Wildlife Trust's reserve near Witherslack (LA11 6SN), has an open viewing platform, 1.5 km (1 mile) along a boardwalk. Ospreys nest there from around the end of March to early September. In winter the Trust lists marsh and hen harriers, snipe and teal, and red deer that can be seen from the raised platform. Entry is free and the car park is small.

In November 2026 the Foulshaw boardwalks were closed because they were slippery, so check the Trust's page before you go.

Elsewhere in Cumbria, RSPB Campfield Marsh has an osprey nesting platform that can be seen from a nearby hide. The RSPB says three chicks hatched there in June 2026, the first ospreys to breed on an RSPB reserve in England since the Victorian period.