Please do join us at one of our Open Days at our Mingledown Barn office in Chawton, Hampshire. Throughout the day we will be offering bookable appointments with our wildlife travel experts, where you can discuss your travel ideas over a relaxed coffee and biscuits. In addition to this, we will also be offering the following free-of-charge activities (registration required):

9am – 10am Moth-trap (runs May – October)
Join moth expert Dave Shute as he identifies the species collected in our trap the previous night over tea, coffee and croissants. You can watch our previous moth traps below!

10:30am – 12 noon Wildlife Walk 
Later in the morning, enjoy a taste of the wildlife around our office by joining one of our naturalists for a gentle, guided walk through nearby woodland, fields and our 12 acre meadow. Our grounds contain extensive Blackthorn hedgerows which support a small population of the rare Brown Hairstreak, which in the summer months we will also hope to find (although we would be fortunate to see one!) along with some of the 20+ butterfly species recorded in our meadows including Purple Hairstreak, Essex Skipper and Small Copper.

Whether you can join us for part, or all of the day, we look forward to seeing you! 

To book: please call us on 01962 733051 or email us to register your name, tour (or area) of interest, and to arrange a time for a meeting with the staff member best suited to discuss your interests. Or, if you simply wish to pop in to say hello and join an activity, please identify which one(s) you would like to join.  

Places & events of interest to Jane Austen fans!

Jane Austen’s birthplace, the village of Steventon, is just half an hour’s drive from Chawton. The rectory where she was born is no longer there, but the church where her father was the vicar still stands and has a small display dedicated to her. Jane Austen was buried in Winchester Cathedral, in the north aisle. She died in a cottage (a few hundred metres from the cathedral) where she’d been living for about eight weeks prior to her death on 18th July 1817. In the picturesque village of Chawton, just a short walk from our offices, is Chawton Cottage where Jane Austen lived and wrote during the last eight years of her short life. Apart from being based in Chawton, Naturetrek is delighted to share a more intimate connection with the great writer – Jane Austen’s brother once owned the land on which our Mingledown Barn office is situated. Chawton Cottage, now called the Jane Austen House Museum, is, arguably, the most important place for the Jane Austen pilgrim to visit as it’s the building most significantly associated with her writing. You’ll be able to see the bedroom Jane shared with her sister, Cassandra, and there’s a good collection of Jane Austen memorabilia too. Also in the village is the magnificent Elizabethan manor, Chawton House, the former home of Jane Austen’s brother, the squire Edward Austen Knight.

Other sites of interest in & around Chawton

There are many other sites of interest in and around Chawton should you be visiting our offices. A few miles away to the south-east lies the village of Selborne, made famous through the writings of its curate in the 18th century, the Reverend Gilbert White who wrote ‘The Natural History of Selborne’. The Wakes, Gilbert White’s charming house, is also well worth a visit; as well as an award-winning tea room, it incorporates the Oates Museum which commemorates the life of Captain Lawrence Oates, hero of Captain Scott’s 1911/12 expedition to the South Pole, and his uncle Frank Oates, the 19th century African explorer.

Finally, we are spoiled for choice with the wonderful variety of excellent pubs nearby, many with attractive beer gardens and serving local Hampshire fare for a delicious lunch or evening meal. However you choose to spend your time, you can be sure of an enjoyable day out in Hampshire!

Catch up on our virtual moth-traps from 2020/21:

July 27th 2021 species list:

September 4th 2020 species list:

August 7th 2020 species list:

July 7th 2020 species list:

June 5th 2022 species list:

"We would like to thank you for your exceptional special open day on 14th June. Your hospitality and in depth knowledge of moths, butterflies and orchids made for such an interesting morning! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves."
K.P. and D.P., Berkshire, June 2019