Three nature reserves to visit this spring

admin
, 19 March 2024
Three nature reserves to visit this spring
Early Purple Orchids © James and Dawn Langiewicz

Did you know that we have over 30 nature reserves in Sussex, and that they are all free to visit?

We’ve chosen three of our best reserves from across the county that are great for wildlife in the spring.

Ebernoe Common

Ebernoe Common © Mark Monk-Terry

A magical network of ancient wood pasture with ponds, streams and meadows, Ebernoe Common is hidden away in the far north-west corner of Sussex.

This spring you will see Bluebells, Early Purple Orchids, Cowslips and Primroses. Adders will be looking for safe basking areas whilst hundreds, if not thousands, of Common Toads will be mating in the ponds.

Malling Down and Southerham Farm

Malling Down © Nigel Symington

A brisk walk on the downs in the spring is a great way to blow away the winter’s cobwebs. Our reserves at Malling Down and Southerham are two of the best examples of chalk grassland in Sussex, with many rare flowers and butterflies, all within easy walking distance of Lewes town centre.

On a sunny spring day there’s nothing better than sitting back in the grass listening to Skylarks singing high up in the blue sky. In May you might be lucky enough to see the beautiful Adonis Blue butterfly feeding on the bright Yellow Kidney Vetch at Malling Down.

Rye Harbour

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve © Stuart Conway

Rye Harbour is one of the most important conservation sites in Britain. Enjoy some amazing wildlife along miles of path with five bird watching hides accessible to wheelchairs. It comprises a mosaic of coastal habitats; shingle, saltmarsh, saline lagoons, coastal grazing marsh, freshwater gravel pits and reedbeds.

This spring the lagoons will be busy with hundreds of Sandwich Terns, and the rich insect life will attract Housemartins and Swallows. Also look out for Orange-tips and Peacock butterflies.

Explore more nature reserves

Help protect the nature reserves of Sussex

Our nature reserves contain some of the most important and fragile habitats in Sussex, but without careful management these precious habitats degrade quickly and restoration can take decades.The Wildlife Trust movement was founded on the concept of nature reserves, and they depend on support from people like you. Will you become a member today to help protect our nature reserves?

With so many species on the red list and at risk of extinction, we need to do all we can to stand up for wildlife. A monthly gift will help us protect the wildlife of Sussex.

Help protect the wildlife of Sussex

Leave a comment

Comments

  • John Doherty:

    I would whole heartily support any one thinking of visiting Rye and, particularly , the harbour. Such a vast eclectic mix of wild life. Also cheap b&b’s available.

    20 Apr 2023 13:14:00

  • Hilary:

    Thank you for letting me know about the Nature Reserves I can visit. Are Dogs (on leads) allowed on all of these? If not which ones are they allowed on please.

    23 Mar 2024 17:31:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Dogs on leads are welcome at all our public nature reserves, except Woods Mill Nature Reserve near Henfield

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782716669.61430 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782716669.64240.0282Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782716669.64260.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782716669.64260Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782716669.64260Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/three-nature-reserves-to-visit-this-spring
    [s] => three-nature-reserves-to-visit-this-spring
    [1] => three-nature-reserves-to-visit-this-spring
)
1782716669.64310.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.64420.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782716669.6460.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782716669.64660.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782716669.64860.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22407750
1782716669.64920.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22407750
1782716669.64980.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-29 07:04:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-29 07:04:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782716669.65130.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='three-nature-reserves-to-visit-this-spring')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 07:04:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782716669.65440.0031 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782716669.6550.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3018 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 07:04:00'
1782716669.6560.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782716669.65670.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782716669.65770.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=29 LIMIT 1
1782716669.65830.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=93 LIMIT 1
1782716669.6590.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=92 LIMIT 1
1782716669.65950.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1782716669.66010.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782716669.66040.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782716669.66140.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 07:04:00' AND postSlug='three-nature-reserves-to-visit-this-spring'
1782716669.68370.0222Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782716669.68490.0012 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782716669.68630.0014Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782716669.68650.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782716669.68730.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782716669.68840.0011 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782716669.69150.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.69220.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782716669.69430.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782716669.69440 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782716669.69530.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782716669.69570.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782716669.69830.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782716669.69940.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782716669.70010.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782716669.70260.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.70360.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782716669.70640.0028 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782716669.70680.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782716669.70720.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782716669.70790.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782716669.70830.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='three-nature-reserves-to-visit-this-spring')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 07:04:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782716669.7110.0027 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782716669.71170.0007 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782716669.71450.0028Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782716669.71550.001 [2] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3018 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782716669.77840.0629 [2] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782716669.77920.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782716669.77930.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782716669.78020.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782716669.7810.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782716669.78230.0013 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782716669.78550.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.78610.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782716669.79810.012 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782716669.79890.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782716669.79990.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782716669.80050.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782716669.80320.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.80380.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782716669.80580.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782716669.80880.0031 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782716669.80970.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782716669.81010.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782716669.81260.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.81330.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782716669.81590.0026 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782716669.81830.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782716669.81910.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782716669.81960.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782716669.82610.0065 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782716669.82690.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782716669.8290.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782716669.83020.0012Request time: 0.2192
1782716669.83020Process time: 0.219
1782716669.83020Memory: 1.6343