Seasonal Self-Guided Video Tours of Hillhouse Wood
Welcome to this seasonal self-guided video tour to the history and wildlife of Hillhouse Wood and its surroundings. Designed to be used on your mobile phone, it starts in the graveyard of St Mary’s Old Church, West Bergholt. (See location 
on the map below).
The guide comprises a number of videos, explaining and showing the wildlife that can be seen and heard at various locations. Each video ends with directions on how to walk to the next location.
How to use it
The Google map is part of your virtual guide. As long as you have given Google permission to know your location, you can track your progress on the embedded map. To start the walk you should first zoom into the starting point (hidden behind 2 in the initial view) and then, as you progress, scroll the screen (methods might vary between iPhone & Android) to identify the next location. You can also use what3words (see the w3w links) to check you are at the correct location for each stop.
As long as you are in roughly the right place, though, that will be fine. When in the wood itself, don’t use Google or Apple maps to guide you – they don’t know where the paths are.
When at each location, tap the relevant button to play its video. For most locations what can be seen and heard varies throughout the year. Different buttons indicate which is the most appropriate video to view – 
, 
, 
or 
.
The guide is still being developed and should be complete by Spring 2026. Currently available videos are:
Location 1 – Old Church Graveyard w3w
Location 1 – Old Church Graveyard Location 2 – By the side of the Churchyard w3w Spring/Summer w3w Autumn/Winter
Location 3 – The site of the hurdle makers cottage w3w
Location 4 – Left turn on the track w3w
Location 5 – Entrance to the wood w3w
Location 6 – By information map in the wood w3w
Location 7 – By top pond w3w
Location 8 – By bottom stream w3w
Location 9 – By bench at the top of open slope w3w
Location 10 – On path over the stream w3w
Location 11 – Open area w3w
Location 12 – By Rhododendrons w3w
Location 13 – By boardwalk w3w
Location 14 – View point w3w
Location 15 – On the farm track w3w
Location 16 – By the hedge w3w
Location 17 – In front of the Hall w3w
About this guide & the Friends of Hillhouse Wood
This guide has been developed by the Friends of Hillhouse wood. We are a group of local volunteers who support The Woodland Trust in protecting and managing the wood. We also run several guided tours during the year, led by an actual human! These are free to members of the Friends (donations are suggested for non-members).
Support Our Work
Membership of the Friends costs just £4 a year for individuals, or £6 for families. If you would like to join us, or make a donation, to help support our work, you can do so here.
For information on the Joe Firmin walk, click here.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following for providing us with some of the images used in this guide: Jon Ward, Keith Winch, Saxifraga – Free nature images. We also acknowledge use of images and recordings, under Fair Dealing, placed in the public domain by Xeno-Canto, the RSPB, The Woodland Trust, the wildlife trusts and The National Trust.