A Winter Walk on the Wild Side - Part II

A winter walk down the outer track of LettsSafari's Dawlish Park.

Watch the short video above for a single frame video of the winter walk down the outer track at Dawlish Park - the original LettsSafari park. This is part 2 of our 3 part trek around Dawlish Park’s new woods. The vistas are quite special.


More than 5,000 15 year old trees planted not long ago make Dawlish Park such a fascinating place - and probably the UK’s most advanced smaller-scale rewilding project. An amazing mix of deciduous trees, gathered in copses, sit around a clutch of coniferous trees for year-round cover - including some majestic and rare Monterey pines.

The vistas through the young trees and the steep valley are amazing.

The small 30 acre valley sits in the heart of the 75 acre rewilding safari park. A place designed to return and conserve fallow deer, foxes, rare birds, and a whole host of small mammals and insects in the wild setting that they thrive in.

The inner track below reveals a carefully curated mix of young deciduous trees planted far enough apart to enable wild grasses and scrub to grow between, Providing plenty of cover for the wildlife.

Tree, grass, wild scrub. A rewilders delight.

Dawlish Park is one of the most visited smaller-scale rewilding parks in the UK thanks to LettsSafari +. Thousands of regular visitors get a virtual front row seat, keeping the physical disturbance to a minimum for the developing habitats and the growing wildlife populations.

But this guy is always a favourite.

The tall, proud male alpaca rules the roost and protects the young herbivores from the vibrant predator community in this oasis of ‘wilderness’. Today’s Walk on the Wild Side (Part 2) takes us high up on the outer track where the views are never ending - even for this guy. Part 1 of this 3 part video series leads us through the deeply wooded inner track.

LettsSafari +
Walk on the Wild Side - Part 1
Watch now (4 min) | Early morning walks through LettsSafari’s growing Network of Parks can be quite an experience. The places are silent, except for the squelching of boots and the sound of wildlife. We wanted to share a walk on the wild side. The video above is the first in a three part Wild TV series through the heart of Dawlish Park: ‘The inner track…
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King of the valley!

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Ancient trees do the heavy lifting when it comes to carbon removal and teach the young trees how to do it. This old oak has weathered many a lightning storm!

Ancient trees mingle with the young.

And the cycle of rebirth has just begun. A plethora of baby herbivores, birds and wild mammals are on the way. Spring, in the southwest of England starts early. On a good year as early as February!!

Up close and personal by Louise Kear

The crisp winter walks are truly invigorating. A small piece of wilderness can become a part of anyone’s garden or backyard. Let’s hope that in 2023 we can all create a mini LettsSafari in our smaller green spaces.

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