live. landowners.

the reserve even further for wildlife. for further even reserve the

full of flowers and alive with birdsong, wherever you you wherever birdsong, with alive and flowers of full

Council, Rye Town Council and independant independant and Council Town Rye Council,

improvements have been made since then to benefit benefit to then since made been have improvements

Council, Council, Parish Parish Icklesham Council, District Rother Council, natural areas of our towns and countryside thriving, thriving, countryside and towns our of areas natural

by a group of local partners, and numerous numerous and partners, local of group a by

Shooting and Conservation, East County County Sussex East Conservation, and Shooting control. wants to see the the see to wants Trust Wildlife Sussex control.

The nature reserve was established in 1970 1970 in established was reserve nature The

Ornithological Society, British Association for for Association British Society, Ornithological us clean water, food, flood protection and climate climate and protection flood food, water, clean us

committee includes representatives from Sussex Sussex from representatives includes committee and social well-being and its natural processes give give processes natural its and well-being social and lagoons which are perfect for bird life. bird for perfect are which lagoons access.

the fabric of ; and a management management a and Castle; Camber of fabric the Castle while the Nature Reserve manages its public public its manages Reserve Nature the while Castle Nature is not a luxury. It underpins our economy economy our underpins It luxury. a not is Nature building industries, leaving behind large water-filled water-filled large behind leaving industries, building

Harbour and sea defences; English Heritage maintain maintain Heritage English defences; sea and Harbour

English Heritage – maintains the fabric of Camber Camber of fabric the maintains – Heritage English extracted in large quantities in the 20 the in quantities large in extracted century for for century

th

you to enjoy. enjoy. to you

support; the Environment Agency manage the the manage Agency Environment the support; vital funding for our work. our for funding vital

But the shingle has had its uses, having been been having uses, its had has shingle the But

provides a better countryside with more wildlife for for wildlife more with countryside better a provides

Reserve play a major role in funding and voluntary voluntary and funding in role major a play Reserve much of it is in Environmental Stewardship providing providing Stewardship Environmental in is it of much

cannons could no longer reach out to sea. to out reach longer no could cannons encourage a better wildlife network that in turn turn in that network wildlife better a encourage

organisations. The Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Nature Harbour Rye of Friends The organisations. Natural – the nature reserve is an SSSI and and SSSI an is reserve nature the – England Natural

so much shingle had built up in front of it that its its that it of front in up built had shingle much so It has a vision for the whole area that aims to to aims that area whole the for vision a has It

be achieved in co-operation with other partner partner other with co-operation in achieved be Two other organisations are key to our work here: work our to key are organisations other Two

to be abandoned less than 100 years later because because later years 100 than less abandoned be to of Sussex, for its own sake and for people to enjoy. enjoy. to people for and sake own its for Sussex, of Managing such a large and important area can only only can area important and large a such Managing Town Council and landowners. and Council Town

built to defend the coast by Henry VIII in 1542, had had 1542, in VIII Henry by coast the defend to built working and campaigning to protect the wildlife wildlife the protect to campaigning and working

Rother District Council, Icklesham Parish Council, Rye Rye Council, Parish Icklesham Council, District Rother

to migrating birds. birds. migrating to

further into the sea. For example Camber Castle, Castle, Camber example For sea. the into further Sussex Wildlife Trust has a 50 year history of of history year 50 a has Trust Wildlife Sussex Shooting and Conservation, County Council, Council, County Sussex East Conservation, and Shooting

an international network of sites that is so important important so is that sites of network international an

the shingle has built up and the coastline shifted shifted coastline the and up built has shingle the Sussex Ornithological Society, British Association of of Association British Society, Ornithological Sussex

think beyond the boundaries of the reserve itself. reserve the of boundaries the beyond think

importance at a European scale, and so forms part of of part forms so and scale, European a at importance

been washed away in storms or isolated inland as as inland isolated or storms in away washed been Committee that oversees the running of the reserve: reserve: the of running the oversees that Committee

wildlife and its human visitors, but we also need to to need also we but visitors, human its and wildlife Furthermore the nature reserve is recognised for its its for recognised is reserve nature the Furthermore

thousand years seaside villages and towns have have towns and villages seaside years thousand These three and the following make up the Management Management the up make following the and three These

even by features such as hedgerows and tree cover. cover. tree and hedgerows as such features by even make improvements to the nature reserve, for both both for reserve, nature the to improvements make

(Good to have logos of these 3 above on the leaflet) the on above 3 these of logos have to (Good ever since and continue to do so. Over the past past the Over so. do to continue and since ever

sites either along the coast, or through watercourses, watercourses, through or coast, the along either sites spiders that only live in shingle. We’ll continue to to continue We’ll shingle. in live only that spiders

of the reserve is a major partner. major a is reserve the of

These gravel and shingle deposits have been shifting shifting been have deposits shingle and gravel These

Scientific Interest. It’s also connected to many other other many to connected also It’s Interest. Scientific invertebrates to thrive - even leeches and tiny tiny and leeches even - thrive to invertebrates

and the sea defences and as owner of the southern part part southern the of owner as and defences sea the and

Dungeness, and Rye Bay Site of Special Special of Site Bay Rye and Marsh Romney Dungeness, today. and created conditions for rare insects and other other and insects rare for conditions created and

Environment Agency – it manages the Harbour of Rye Rye of Harbour the manages it – Agency Environment

Harbour nature reserve is part of the much larger larger much the of part is reserve nature Harbour and these make up much of the surface we see here here see we surface the of much up make these and can nest safely. We’ve also protected rare plants plants rare protected also We’ve safely. nest can

important part of its funding and voluntary support. voluntary and funding its of part important

That’s why it’s important to remember that Rye Rye that remember to important it’s why That’s

primitive and ape-like, gravel deposits were formed formed were deposits gravel ape-like, and primitive chicks, and built dozens of islands so terns and gulls gulls and terns so islands of dozens built and chicks, reserve and now with more than 2,000 members, it is an an is it members, 2,000 than more with now and reserve

human-type or ‘hominid’ creatures were still very very still were creatures ‘hominid’ or human-type harriers breed, saltmarsh where avocets raise their their raise avocets where saltmarsh breed, harriers extinction. this charity has given vital support to the nature nature the to support vital given has charity this

the bedrock of this area. Two million years ago, when when ago, years million Two area. this of bedrock the created reedbeds where bitterns fish and marsh marsh and fish bitterns where reedbeds created small areas, unable to expand and at severe risk of of risk severe at and expand to unable areas, small Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve – since 1973 1973 since – Reserve Nature Harbour Rye of Friends

mudstone beds were laid down in swamps to form form to swamps in down laid were beds mudstone the conditions for wildlife to thrive here. We’ve We’ve here. thrive to wildlife for conditions the free-range zoos with all our wildlife packed into into packed wildlife our all with zoos free-range

period when dinosaurs roamed, sandstone and and sandstone roamed, dinosaurs when period have been continual improvements to enhance enhance to improvements continual been have

isolation - otherwise they become little more than than more little become they otherwise - isolation since 2011, this charity….. this 2011, since

Around 140 million years ago, in the Cretaceous Cretaceous the in ago, years million 140 Around Ever since the nature reserve was established there there established was reserve nature the since Ever There is no point in viewing nature reserves in in reserves nature viewing in point no is There Sussex Wildlife Trust – managing the nature reserve reserve nature the managing – Trust Wildlife Sussex

... history ... picture bigger the ... future the for vision a

why is Rye Harbour special ? getting there ... your guide to ...

All 465ha of the nature reserve has formed Rye Harbour nature reserve lies to the south of Rye and over the last 700 years by the combined force in Sussex. Rye Harbour of the wind and the sea pushing up great ridges There are several entry points but the main one is in the of shingle. It has a variety of soils from marine village of Rye Harbour where there’s a large car park next Nature Reserve clay to sand and shingle and a gradient of to the Martello Tower – the nearest postcode for Sat Nav is TN31 7TX, the OS grid reference is TQ942189. salinity from seawater to freshwater. This, along with varied land management has created a The railway station in Rye is just an 11 minute walk from the north part of the nature reserve near Brede Lock, fascinating mosaic of habitats, many of which are or there’s a regular bus service from Rye station to Rye scarce in Britain: vegetated shingle ridges, saline Harbour village. lagoons, saltmarsh, grazing marsh with ditches and ponds, gravel pits and reedbed. You can explore all of the reserve along a network of The nature reserve boasts more than 4,000 footpaths. A private tarmac road runs through the species of plants and animals, some of which are southern part of the reserve and the four bird-watching nationally rare and endangered, while some are hides here are suitable for most wheelchairs. The northern part of the nature reserve, Castle Farm, is served by shingle declining elsewhere in Britain such as the water and grassy paths which are usually dry, and a fifth hide vole and the cuckoo. overlooks Castle Water - fabulous for ducks, especially in No wonder it has been designated as a Local winter. Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation, but perhaps what makes the nature reserve so special to the thousands of events and education ... people that visit every year is the timeless beauty We run regular guided walks and family events that give of its extraordinary landscape. you the opportunity to discover the wildlife and history of the area with our experienced staff. We encourage educational visits for all ages and we can tailor a visit to your requirements.

Find out much more by visiting: www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ryeharbour

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Lime Kiln Cottage, Rye Harbour, East Sussex, TN31 7TX Nature reserve office phone: 01797 227784 Sussex Wildlife Trust Registered Charity No. 207005 bitte rn grazing ... Many areas of the nature reserve are managed with Herdwick sheep grazing animals, otherwise reedbed creation ... it would quickly go to scrub Very few areas of this tall wetland and then woodland. We use grass survived extensive land some primitive breeds such drainage during the past 100 years. as Herdwick sheep because We created 20ha adjacent to a they are good at browsing large gravel pit in 2005 which is scrub and are hardy in now home to reedbed specialists our windswept and wet bittern, marsh harrier, water rail, landscape. But we do leave bearded tit, garganey and many some areas to scrub and insects. trees for other wildlife. saltmarsh recreation ... A national and local decline in this intertidal habitat has encouraged the recreation of this wetland by fences ... the Environment Agency as part Some of our fencing is of sea defence improvements. electrified to reduce the We worked together in 2011 to losses of our ground nesting produce 20 hectares rich in plants, birds from foxes and birds and the tiny animals they badgers looking for a tasty feed on, with up to 10,000 tiny egg supper at night. Other shrimps in a square metre – great fencing is to allow our for avocets. sheep and goats to manage the vegetation so that it remains suitable for our special wildlife.

avocet

oystercatcher on nest invertebrates ... In our scarce habitats we have more than 100 shingle flowers ... endangered invertebrates. Living in this very harsh Most of these are tiny and environment with little rarely seen, but have an soil or fresh water, important influence on our some species thrive management. This large among the pebbles: hairy caterpillar of the pale sea kale, sea pea, grass eggar moth is a rare sea campion, viper’s species, which can often be bugloss, yellow horned- seen crossing the road along poppy and two very the shore and provides a rare species – least major food source for our lettuce and stinking cuckoos during May and hawksbeard. June.

pale grass eggar yellow horned-poppy moth caterpillar breeding birds ... With more than 90 species of birds nesting, the specialities here are little, take the trail ... common and Sandwich terns, avocet, redshank, lapwing, Short route about 2 miles or 3½ kilometres: oystercatcher, and ringed from the Rye Harbour car park - follow 1, 2, 3, 4 and little ringed plovers, Long route about 5½ miles or 9 kilometres: Mediterranean and common follow 1, 2, then 5 and follow the numbers all the way gulls, which all benefit from the round to 15 to rejoin the Rye Harbour Road protection of our fences. co m mon te rn