HUNDREDS of families got close to nature when Elmstead Market’s Beth Chatto Gardens hosted a two-day wildlife fair.

Activities ranged from puzzle trails around the gardens to making dream catchers using woodland materials.

The Colchester Natural History Society set up a moth trap overnight and then showed visitors what they had caught. A presentation also taught people about the work of rangers in Essex and Suffolk.

Colchester beekeepers provided the opportunity to observe bees in their hive and Suffolk Owl Sanctuary introduced visitors to their birds.

Andrea Malby, Friends of the Garden administrator, said: “It has been gone really well and we have been really busy. We had about 400 visitors each day.”