For a great family trip, visit this delightful wetland reserve beside the River Lee. Rye Meads is a favourite with walkers, birdwatchers and photographers too. There are wheelchair-friendly trails, and 10 hides, complete with amazing murals. Look out over the reedbeds, wet meadows, open water and artificial sandbanks, which are a great place to spot the blue flash of a kingfisher. Common terns nest on specially-created rafts during the summer, and these days you're likely to hear the explosive song of the Cetti's warbler, a recent arrival here. If it is wildlife really close you are after, then butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies put on quite a show.