Welcome
RSPB Otmoor nature reserve is nestled close to Oxford, where tranquility and wildlife reign. Watch lapwings perform their tumbling aerial displays from the visitor trail in spring. Explore the trail further towards the reedbed and you may hear the bittern booming. Listen to the whistling winter wigeon as they graze the fields, and wait for sunsets that fill the Otmoor skies. In summer, wander through the brightly coloured meadows. Look for dragonflies and damselflies whizzing over water in hunt for a mate. Arrive early in the morning to hear the chorus of birds singing, and be in with the chance of seeing an otter swimming gracefully along the waterways.
Level access
Getting here
Parking
There is a £2 per car charge for reserve entry for non-members and entry is free for RSPB members.
The car park is located at the main gateway into the nature reserve.
There is car parking for 30 cars and there are no reserved or blue badge car parking spaces.
The car park has three bicycle racks.
There is no lighting in the car park and the surface of the car park is compacted stone which may be uneven.
Arrival
Path to main entrance
Main entrance
Otmoor has no visitor centre or reception. Entrance is through the kissing gate
accessed from the car park. The kissing gate has a clearance of 130 cm and leads
onto a wide track ~2m wide which is made of compacted stone.
Getting around inside
Getting around outside
Visitor Trail
After entering the reserve through the kissing gate there is a compacted stone path measuring ~2m in width.
330m from the car park is a bench with no back or arm support, overlooking an area of bird feeders.
The path then goes up a slope to join the bridleway, this path is ~100cm wide but may narrow to 80cm in places.
The bridleway has a compacted stone path, however this does become muddy when wet.
There is a second bench 550m from the first, this bench has back support.
1.1km from the car park is the Wetlands Watch hide. This can be accessed on the left of the bridleway.
To the right of the bridleway, through a kissing gate with a clearance of 130 cm, there is a comparcted stone trail leading to the viewing screens. The path is ~90cm wide but narrows to 60cm in place. Just after the kissing gate is a bench with no back support or arm rests. This bench is 1.18km from the car park.
The first screen has two means of access: firstly a ramp with no handrail and secondly 4 steps with handrails. The screen is not fully covered overhead, and has benches with no back or arm support. The first viewing screen is 1.6km from the car park and 490m from the previous bench.
470m from the first viewing screen is a bench with no back support or arm rests.
400m further on from this bench is the second viewing screen. The second screen can be accessed from a ramp, this ramp has no hand rail. As with the first viewing screen it is not fully covered overhead and has benches inside with no back support or arm rests. This screen is 2.4km from the car park.
Going to the second screen and back is a total distance of 4.88km
Designated Walking Trail
July's Meadow
Continung past the Wetland Watch hide is a kissing gate with a clearance of 130cm.
This leads to a track ~2m wide and made of compact stone which goes to Julys Meadow. The field this track goes across does contain cattle seasonally. There is a kissing gate at the end of this track which has a width of 120cm.
The track past this gate is not surfaced and gets muddy when wet. Turning left here brings you to the kissing gate leading into the lower end of Julys Meadow. Turning right joins the footpath which goes aroung Julys Meadow to a second kissing gate at the other side of the field.
The first kissing gate leading into the lower end of the meadow has a clearance of 95cm. The path through the meadow is narrow and uneven with no surface and so becomes muddy when wet. The kissing gate at the far end of the meadow path has a clearance of 120cm.
Designated Walking Trail
Seasonal Trail
The seasonal trail opens only when ground conditions allow and not during the breeding season. There are two access points to this trail: the first just after the first entrance from the car park, and the second is 190m along the visitor trail.
At both entrances there are kissing gates with a clearance of 70cm.
The trail is not surfaced, it is uneven and becomes muddy when wet. There are two trails available of varying length.
The Wetlands Watch Hide
The Wetlands Watch Hide
First Viewing Screen
Second Viewing Screen