Berney Marshes and Breydon Water

We're working hard to make our nature reserves safe and ready for our staff, visitors and wildlife. Many have now re-opened in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, although some facilities are not yet available. Some reserves remain closed for now. See our COVID-19 updates page for the latest information (link below).

Address: RSPB Berney Marshes, Berney Marshes, Burgh Castle NR31 9PZ

Grid ref: TG464048

See our updates page to see which reserves are open.

Experience the spectacle when thousands of wintering ducks, geese and swans visit the estuary and surrounding grazing marshes. In fact, up to 64,000 wintering wildfowl visit the reserve every year, the latter including pink-footed geese and wigeons, as well as breeding lapwings, redshanks and avocets. Raptors are also regular visitors.

Plan your visit

Open at all times.

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: Free, but donations are very welcome.

Children: Free, but donations are very welcome.

Facilities

Viewing point
Nature trails

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

For Berney Marshes, get off at the Berney Arms Station. For Breydon Water, get off at Great Yarmouth and follow the Wherrymans Way long-distance footpath on the northern side of the estuary.

By road

Strictly no access by road.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

Other ways to get there

Access by boat is possible from the River Yare by mooring near the Berney Arms Windmill. Access by foot is possible by following the public footpaths from Halvergate and Reedham.

Get directions from Google Maps

RSPB reserves on Google Earth

12 degrees, Sunny day

Contact Berney Marshes and Breydon Water

RSPB Berney Marshes, Berney Marshes, Burgh Castle NR31 9PZ
berney.marshes@rspb.org.uk
01493 700645
@RSPBNorfolkLinc
Find us on facebook

What will you see?

Our star species

Golden plover

Up to 30,000 spend winter here.

Lapwing

Watch the nesting lapwings here chase predators that may come too close to their nests.

Pink-footed goose

Up to 15,000 pink-footed geese assemble here from late September-March.

Redshank

Keep an eye out for the redshanks' towering display flights over the wet meadows in spring.

Wigeon

During winter, flocks of wigeons are a daily sight, with 25,000 often on the reserve.

In spring, you can see large populations of breeding waders and waterfowl.

Summer is a very quiet time at the reserve, but you do get to experience the traditional Broadland marsh landscape.

In autumn, the numbers of wintering waterfowl are building up. Species include wigeons, lapwings, pink-footed geese, shovelers, teals and estuarine waders.

In the peak of the winter season, there can be up to 100,000 wintering waders and wildfowl. This is made up of 25,000 lapwings, 25,000 wigeons, 15,000 pink-footed geese and 30,000 golden plovers.

About Berney Marshes and Breydon Water

Habitat

Our Berney Marshes and Breydon Water reserve protects an area of wet grassland, intertidal mud and saltmarsh in the Norfolk Broads.

Conservation

The RSPB is helping manage the Berney Marshes and Breydon Water habitats for all their wildlife, especially breeding and wintering birds.

We maintain 550 ha of improved wet grassland for up to 85,000 wintering wildfowl and waders, the latter including pink-footed geese, wigeon and black-tailed godwit. We hold high water level in the spring to create ideal condition for breeding redshank and lapwing and graze with cattle to create the right sward structure.
We manage ditches for the benefit of aquatic invertebrates and other wildlife. We do this on a 7–10 year rotation.
We work to maintain 375 ha of intertidal mud and saltmarsh as a refuge for the 85k wintering wildfowl.
Monitoring and research help us to manage the reserve and also contribute to national surveys. Berney is ideally placed to allow us to trial new and often in innovative approaches to help us protect our threatened wetland species.

Partners

Little Tern Recovery Project is generously supported by the EU LIFE+ Nature Programme.

Site information

Explore a classic Broadland landscape with wide-open skies and the Berney Arms Windmilll. Experience the spectacle of the tens of thousands of wintering ducks, geese and swans which visit the estuary and surrounding grazing marshes in this quiet, remote location.

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Berney Marshes and Breydon Water