The iconic badger is found across the UK. Here are a few places to spot badgers on our canals and rivers.
A badger pokes its head out of its muddy, earthy tunnel, emerging from its sett.
4 places to spot badgers on our network
Looking for somewhere to start badger watching? We’ve listed a few places along our canals and rivers that have recorded badger sightings.
1. Caen Hill
At Caen Hill Locks, there is a strip of established woodland between the side pounds and the new Jubilee Wood. The established woodland along the canal bank provides shelter and security.
These woodlands make excellent habitats for other creatures, too, like rabbits and hedgehogs. These spiky creatures, along with the earthworms, slugs and other invertebrates found here provide important food sources for badgers.
Our ecologists and engineers monitor the badger setts within this woodland. If the badgers burrow as far as the edge of the canal, it could cause a potential breach and flood the badger’s home.
One of the most impressive structures on our canals and rivers, the Avoncliff Aqueduct is over 100 metres long and 18 metres wide. This engineering feat carries the Kennet & Avon Canal over the River Avon.
Here, you'll see all the usual water birds, but look out for foxgloves and red clover, as well as deer and wandering badgers. At dusk, you may see the bats that live in the crevices of the aqueduct.
Canal banks make inviting habitats for badgers, who dig their setts underground. A badger's sett is an underground maze of tunnels and nesting chambers. They prefer to dig setts in woodland, hedgerows and canal embankments. The outside cover enables badgers to emerge and cubs to play without being too visible to humans or predators.
Cosgrove is an historic village lying to the north of Milton Keynes on the Grand Union Canal. As well as waterfowl, kingfishers, owls, and rare breed cattle, you might also see badgers at Cosgrove & Wolverton.
Here, you'll find the canal crosses the River Ouse and Ouse Valley Park. This nature reserve provides plenty of vegetation and food for badgers, who like a mix of open and wooded land.
As badgers are nocturnal, you'll need to head out at dusk to spot them foraging for food. Scout out your badger-watching spot before it gets dark. If there is recent trampling, freshly excavated mounds, or discarded bedding, there’s a good chance that the badgers are at home. Once you’ve got everything ready, get there an hour before sunset, get comfortable, and wait.
Hatton's famous 'stairway to heaven' flight of 21 locks were built to fight off stiff competition from the roads and railways. Today, Hatton Locks is a peaceful location to watch colourful narrowboats on the Grand Union Canal and take in the local wildlife.
As well as the resident ducks, moorhens, and swans, you'll see house sparrows and grey wagtails, and sometimes badgers along the wooded embankments.
These wooded embankments provide plenty of space and shelter for badgers to burrow within. At night, these iconic creatures surface to hunt through the thick vegetation for food.
Badgers live in an underground maze of tunnels and chambers, called setts. Often found in woodlands or along canal embankments, badgers often pass their setts from generation to generation.
Canals provide valuable habitats for badgers, with easy access to food. The presence of badgers along our network showcases the success of our efforts to improve biodiversity and help nature thrive.
