Fernheath Valley is a small, little-known nature reserve and public open space tucked into Wallisdown, on the western fringe of Bournemouth near Talbot Village and Kinson. It is recorded as a nature reserve in Bournemouth's mapping data, sourced from the former Bournemouth Borough Council, and it also appears on the council's definitive map of public rights of way as the public open space at the end of footpath U22, which runs in from Verney Close.
Where it is
The reserve sits just off Verney Road, immediately alongside Fernheath Playing Fields, the community sports ground used for football, cricket and rugby, and home to the Fernheath Community Sports Association. Where the playing fields are an active, managed venue with a pavilion and play area, Fernheath Valley is the quieter strip of protected green land bordering it, linked into the wider network of footpaths crossing this part of Wallisdown.
Visiting
There is no visitor centre, café or trail information for Fernheath Valley itself, it is a modest patch of protected open space rather than a landscaped attraction, and verified detail beyond its designation and access route is genuinely thin on the ground. Anyone in the area will find picnic space and a children's play area next door at Fernheath Playing Fields, while the reserve's footpath serves mainly as a quiet cut-through for local dog walkers and residents.
It is one of many smaller green corners scattered around the wider Bournemouth area, for the bigger-name parks, gardens and beaches, see our guide to things to do in Bournemouth.