Hesketh Out Marsh Sunday 9th June

Field trip meet at the car park at 10am.

If you don't know much about the reserve here is a quick update.
This new saltmarsh reserve is a great place to admire the gathered pink-footed geese, wigeons, teals and other wildfowl in winter, along with big flocks of wading birds like golden plovers, lapwings and black-tailed godwits. In spring the marshes are alive with the sight and sound of displaying waders, including avocets and lapwings.

When we bought it in 2006, Hesketh Out Marsh was used for growing crops. The land was taken out of the estuary in 1980 by the creation of an outer wall, but this wall was never going to last for ever.

With the climate changing and the sea level rising, the RSPB and the Environment Agency recognised the need to plan for the future and create stronger sea defences. At the same time, we also need to create new saltmarsh habitat to replace losses elsewhere.

The new reserve does both these things by the process known as 'managed realignment' and is one of the largest of its kind in the UK. We have let the seawater back in to flood some of the land, creating saltmarsh which provides more space for nature. At the same time, the new saltmarsh acts like a sponge, soaking up some of the energy of the sea before it reaches the strong, new sea defences.

By working in partnership with the Environment Agency and with funding from Lancaster City Council, and the Lancashire Rural Recovery Action Plan, the Hesketh Out Marsh project has greatly improved the local sea defences and created 150 hectares of new saltmarsh, creeks and lagoons.

Further funding from Biffa Award and Natural England has enabled us to provide facilities for visitors and for the cows and sheep that graze the marshes as well as funding research into the many changes that are taking place at this exciting new reserve as it returns to the wild.

Avocets and redshanks are among the birds that have already nested on the site and large numbers of lapwings, golden plovers, shelducks, wigeons and teals are expected to use the site in the winter months.

Opening times

From 8 am to 6 pm, or dusk if it's earlier.

Entrance charges

Free, but we'd love it if you made a donation to help us continue our work here.

Chris