Campfield Marsh

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Address
RSPB Campfield Marsh, Wigton CA7 5AG
Grid ref
NY197615

Campfield Marsh, on the shores of the Solway Firth, is a natural mosaic of saltmarsh, peatbogs, farmland and wet grassland. This rich area provides homes for a variety of native wildlife, including ducks and geese in the winter and breeding waders, dragonflies and peat bog plants in spring and summer.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Open at all times. 

Entrance charges

Free entrance to RSPB members
Yes
Adults
Free, but donations are very welcome
Children
Free, but donations are very welcome
Car park cost

Free

Facilities

  • Visitor centre
  • Car park
  • Toilets
  • Accessible toilets
  • Baby changing
  • Refreshments
  • Picnic area
  • Viewing point
  • Nature trails
  • Shop off-site
  • Educational facilities
  • Play area

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

The nearest station is Carlisle (13 miles; 21 km from reserve).

By bus

Bus no. 93 from Carlisle terminates at the eastern end of Campfield Marsh reserve at Bowness on Solway. Access to North Plain Farm and Bowness Common is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west along the road by the saltmarsh.

By road

The main entrance is at North Plain Farm 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Bowness on Solway on the unclassified coast 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.

Get directions from Google Maps
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Group booking information

Groups are welcome to visit at all times, though the visitor centre and reserve may be unmanned during the week. However toilets and self service refreshments are available from 10am - 4pm most days. 

Please contact the reserve when planning your visit to ensure facilities will be available when you arrive. There is access and parking for small coaches, but larger coaches may need to drop off at the roadside, 100m from the visitor centre.

Schools booking information

School groups are welcome to visit and use the education room and discovery zone for a small donation. Self-guided groups are welcome at all times, and staff may be occasionally available to help run a group event. Indoor/outdoor classroom seating, toilets, pond dipping facilities, natural play area available.

What will the weather be like?

12 degrees, Partly cloudy (day)

Contact Campfield Marsh

What will you see?

Our star species

Recents sightings

Pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus, flock in flight. Ribble Estuary, Marshside RSPB reserve, Lancashire, England.

Find out about recent wildlife sightings at Campfield Marsh.

Read more

Nature spectacles

Look out over the saltmarsh at high tide to watch the gatherings of oystercatchers, lapwings, curlews and dunlin between autumn and spring.  Visit in winter to watch thousands of teal wigeon, pintail and shoveler feeding on the flooded fields. In summer the peat bog is the place to head to see an array of dragonflies and damselflies darting over the heather, while lizards scurry across the boardwalk in front of you.

Seasonal highlights

Spring and summer are busy times for nature and a great time for you to explore. Keep your eyes peeled for lapwings performing their tumbling display flight over the wet farm fields. Stroll along the saltmarsh and listen to the wonderful sounds of songbirds. Find yourself a pool on the peat bog and sit and watch dragonfles and damselflies darting past. Wander around the wildflower meadows to marvel at the beautiful blooms. Listen for male snipe “drumming” as they try to attract a mate over the rushy fields.

Spring and summer are busy times for nature and a great time for you to explore. Keep your eyes peeled for lapwings performing their tumbling display flight over the wet farm fields. Stroll along the saltmarsh and listen to the wonderful sounds of songbirds. Find yourself a pool on the peat bog and sit and watch dragonflies and damselflies darting past. Wander around the wildflower meadows to marvel at the beautiful blooms. Listen for male snipe “drumming” as they try to attract a mate over the rushy fields.

Over autumn and winter, watch from the lay-bys as the high tide pushes thousands of oystercatchers, dunlins and curlews onto the saltmarsh roosts. Head to the hide to see hundreds of teals, wigeons and other ducks feeding. Visit the farm fields to find flocks of reed buntings and linnets feeding on the seed. Look for weird and wonderful fungi in the birch woods.

Over autumn and winter, watch from the lay-bys as the high tide pushes thousands of oystercatchers, dunlins and curlews onto the saltmarsh roosts. Head to the hide to see hundreds of teals, wigeons and other ducks feeding. Visit the farm fields to find flocks of reed buntings and linnets feeding on the seed. Look for weird and wonderful fungi in the birch woods.

About Campfield Marsh

Habitat

From autumn until spring, the tidal sands are busy with thousands of wading birds. Come spring, migrant warblers set up territories and the gorse bursts into bloom.

The former farmland has been transformed into a wetland paradise for lapwings, redshanks and the thousands of ducks and geese that spend the winter here. Continue on through the woodland and you will emerge on the vast open heather landscape of the raised peat bog.

Conservation

The peat bog, or raised mire, supports breeding curlews and snipe, as well as dragonflies and large heath butterflies. We are managing this important area by keeping the water high and allowing the peat to begin to regrow. We manage our wet grassland for the benefit of wading birds and wildfowl, and aim especially to increase our breeding populations of redshank and lapwing. Grazing helps us maintain suitable ground for these birds, and we will extend this by creating ditches and drains on any newly acquired land

Arable farmland on the reserve provides winter stubble for tree sparrows, reed buntings, linnets and skylarks. To boost their numbers we are converting 1 ha of semi-improved grassland into arable. The 52 ha of saltmarsh on the reserve supports a great variety of ducks and geese. We are working to maintain this area key features, including its grassland, gorse scrub and open water. Measures include grazing with cattle, maintaining ditches and open water, and minimising disturbance.

Partners

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund through the Solway Wetlands Landscape Partnership.

Site information

Initially comprising 52 ha of saltmarsh purchased in 1987, the reserve has expanded over the years to include three areas of former farmland and 65 ha of raised peat bog to produce a mosaic of wetlands now totalling 335 ha on the Solway coast. It provides refuge for wintering wildfowl, breeding waders and other wetland specialists such as marsh fritillary butterflies. The site comprises parts of the South Solway Mosses SAC, Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA / SSSI and Bowness Common SSSI.

Activities and events

Activities for children and families

Come and visit the family discovery zone with self-guided activities. Pond-dipping nets, trays and guides are available to borrow from the visitor centre.

Visit the natural play area to run, play and picnic before heading off on the 'Tale Trail'  - a family guide to the reserve with Elmo the Peewit. Pick up your leaflet and map from the visitor centre.

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