Pictures of Orford Ness Nature Reserve

a Nature Reserve in the town of Orford, in the county of Suffolk

About Orford Ness Nature Reserve

Visitors to this lovely town wishing to see the Nature Reserve have to catch a ferry from Orford Quay.

The reserve is the largest of its kind in Europe, it is an important area for both breeding and passage birds, offering a wide variety of habitations which include brackish lagoons and marsh grazing. But is beautiful wildlife oasis was not always the contented place it appears today. From the early part of the 20th-century right up until 1980, this area which is one of the largest shingle spits in the country, was a secret military test site.

On the spit visitors can search out a variety of shingle plants such as sea kale, yellow horned poppies, and the purple sea pea. Beside the river the mud flats provide an important feeding area for roosting wildfowl and waders. Both sea purslane and sea lavender grow in wild abandon all over the mud flats.

This is a spectacular region for exploring wildlife. Havergate Island, notorious in the 17th and 18th-centuries for smuggling, and with associations with World War II when it was used for ballistic experiments, is today famed as a breeding site for Avocets.

The reserve is of international importance, it is a wonderful place which is of interest to everyone no matter what age. It is in the care of the National Trust and is one of Suffolk's most visited tourist attractions

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Nearby travel help

Wickham Market Station	(7.3 miles, 11.8 km, direction NW)
Melton Station	(8.7 miles, 14.0 km, direction W)
Norwich Airport	(41.6 miles, 66.9 km, direction N)
London Stansted Airport	(57.2 miles, 92.0 km, direction W)
M11 Junction 9	(57.8 miles, 92.9 km, direction W)
M11 Junction 8	(59.1 miles, 95.1 km, direction W)
Orford Ness Nature Reserve to London	(81.9 miles, 131.8 km, direction SW)

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