Belton Park is an extensive area of grassland with fine trees and woodland below and along a limestone scarp slope.
Cafe / Tea Room
Parking
Toilets
what species and habitats can you find?
The woodland at the top either side of local landmark Bellmount Tower has a good range of woodland bird species including green and great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatch, treecreeper and 5 species of tit. It is a good place to see little owl, marsh tit and raven. Indeed it was this location that raven chose to recolonise Lincolnshire some 20 years ago. They are still present and can be seen and heard year-round, harrying and being harried by red kites and buzzards. The southern part of the park and the area around Old Wood was one of the last breeding places for lesser spotted woodpecker in the county and its always worth checking for drumming and calling birds in February/March. The River Witham runs through the west side of Belton Park and there is an interesting collection of lakes with waterbirds including ducks, grebes, little egret and coot. Breeding mandarin duck can be found here as well as a herony.
Autumn & Winter species
Check the large flocks of corvids for ravens and watch out for the ever-present raptors. With juvenile buzzards, red kites, kestrels and sparrowhawks perfecting their flying skills, September is a great time to watch raptors.
All the regular woodland species mentioned above are present all year round, joined by redwing, fieldfare and brambling in the winter.
Spring & Summer species
Watch for the interactions between ravens, buzzards and red kites as they dispute nesting territories and listen and look for singing marsh tits and drumming woodpeckers. Green woodpeckers forage for ants around the anthills though out the parkland. Watch for herons flying to their heronry in the south part of the park and see if you can spot their nests before the leaves obscure them.
The woodland and parkland is a hive of activity as parents rush to feed their young and get them fledged. Birding in woodland becomes progressively harder as the summer goes on and the leaves get thicker but the woodpeckers, nuthatch, treecreepers and tits are always present and unwary juveniles can provide excellent viewing opportunities. Walking the woodlands for half a day and you are bound to encounter something. A dashing hobby, a family of freshly fledged kestrels, a gauche juvenile green woodpecker, little owls sitting out on gnarled old tree trunks, it’s all there to be looked for.
facilities
As one might expect there are a full range of facilities in the NT Belton House complex including toilets and cafes which are open from 09:30 to 17:30 but best check the NT website if you wish to rely on them. The free car park has no facilities at all apart from access to an extensive network of footpaths across the eastern side of the estate.
getting here
The National Trust Belton Estate lies a couple of miles north of Grantham off the A607. It is a classic English landed parkland estate with a fine house and gardens. From the birding perspective it has excellent parkland, woodland and lakes some of which are accessible free. A good place to begin is the free Belmount car park at SK943389. The Woodland Trust manages and own woodlands to the southeast of Belton Park, namely Londonthorpe Woods and Alma Park. To access the main parkland and Old Wood an entry fee must be paid by non-NT members.
access
The public footpaths and bridleways are easy to walk on but please respect any advisory signs you see and don’t trespass off public rights of way on to farmland.
opening times
There are no time restrictions on access to the birding areas.
nearby market town
Grantham
Grantham is an attractive and industrial market town that sits on the border of Lincolnshire and Nottingham. Being home to a number of Lincolnshire's incredibly picturesque historic houses, castles and buildings including Belton House and Belvoir Castle, it is well worth a visit and makes for an excellent day trip or weekend away.
