Just 5 miles south east of Stafford is the UK’s smallest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cannock Chase.

The well maintained paths through the forests, heathland and bog are under the care of the Forestry Commission and are ideal for walkers of all abilities plus offers miles of trails for mountain bikes and horses.

Some of the areas can get crowded but a few miles down the tracks you can soon get away and enjoy the wildlife.

Wildlife to Watch Out For

Adders – watch out for them warming up in the sun near the bracken areas
Deer – in the dark areas under the tall pine trees and amongst the newly planted trees
Red Squirrels – a few can still be found in the coniferous areas.
Crossbills – a type of finches which likes to feed on the seeds from pine cones and has a specially adapted bills with hooked ends
Woodpeckers – amongst the Birch and Oak.
Yellow Hammers – can be seen on the open heath 

Cannock Chase dates back to the time of William the Conquer.  Cannock Chase was a much larger area then and was used as a hunting ground.  The Chase would have been more of a deciduous wood than it today comprising mainly of Oak.  One of the few areas that may give an insight into the old Cannock Chase can be found ion the area of Brocton Coppice in the North West of the Chase.

But the deforestation lead to the creation of heathland that the local population then used to graze their animals.  The level of grazing was later reduced and this lead to an influx of Birch which are a common site today.  An even more common sight today is the Pine which is now commercially grown.