Rye Harbour Ramble - station to sea

Voted Britain’s favourite nature reserve in 2016 in the third annual LandLove Magazine Awards, and of the most important conservation sites in Britain, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve has also been recognised internationally for its importance as a wetland.

The 465 hectare (1149 acres) reserve contains many habitats resulting from: a variety of soils; a gradient of salinity; varying degrees of exposure to wind and flooding by the sea; water level; and different management practices. Consequently there is a great variety of species with 4,275 recorded so far. These include more than 300 that are considered rare and endangered in Britain.

Rye Harbour is most famous for its bird life and in particular its breeding colonies of the little, common and Sandwich terns. So far more than 280 species of birds have been recorded on the Reserve, of which over 90 have nested.

The area also contains considerable historic interest with military fortifications from the 16th, 19th and 20th centuries, a lifeboat disaster and evidence of man's early and continuing efforts to defend the land from the sea.

This flat, open and historic landscape, with its low level of development, proximity to the sea and dramatic wildlife can provide a very special experience.

Find out more at:

www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/visit/rye-harbour