Hodbarrow

Address: RSPB Hodbarrow, Mainsgate Rd, Millom LA18 4JY

Grid ref: SD174790

What3Words: sleep.degrading.lobbed

This coastal lagoon and grasslands, located on the site of a former iron mine, support breeding terns, ringed plovers, redshanks and oystercatchers. You'll also find great crested grebes nesting on the island here. This magnificent bird was almost hunted to extinction in the UK and is now a protected species.

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

Pushchair friendly
Picnic area
Viewing points are closed
Nature trails

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

The closest station is Millom, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away. Turn left out of the station to Millom. From Millom town square continue east beyond the pedestrian crossing, taking the second right (Mainsgate Road signposted for Hodbarrow RSPB). Continue for about 0.5 mile (0.8 km), turning left by the lagoon for access to the reserve.

By road

From Millom town square, continue east taking the second right (Mainsgate Road signposted for Hodbarrow RSPB). Continue for about 0.5 miles (0.8 km), turning left by the lagoon for the reserve car park.

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.

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Downloads

Helping you find your way around. PDF, 72Kb

Hodbarrow trail guide

Contact Hodbarrow

RSPB Hodbarrow, Mainsgate Rd, Millom LA18 4JY
campfield.marsh@rspb.org.uk
01697 351330
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What will you see?

Our star species

Great crested grebe

Great crested grebes are renowned for their dramatic courtship displays, where the pair 'dances' together.

Little tern

As their name suggests, little terns are the smallest of the British terns and nest colonially on the island at Hodbarrow.

Red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted mergansers are fish-eating diving ducks which have jagged 'teeth' inside their bills.

Sandwich tern

Sandwich terns spend the winter off the west African coast before returning to locations like the Hodbarrow lagoon to breed.

Sedge warbler

Another warbler that returns from Africa in spring.

Nature spectacles

Walk the seawall and visit the hide from May to July and watch the tern colony in full swing, with birds commuting to and from the estuary at close range.

Over spring and summer, sit along the sea wall and watch for terns flying over carrying fish. Wander through the grassland to marvel at the colour and variety of wildflowers. Find a quiet spot amongst the trees and listen to the birdsong. Discover one of the many ponds and watch the dragonflies darting over.

During autumn and winter, take a bracing walk along the sea wall with stunning views over the Duddon Estuary. Look out for large flocks of ducks and wading birds on the island in front of the hide. Wander through the wooded areas to find an amazing variety of mushrooms and toadstools. Watch thrushes and other birds feeding on the abundance of berries around the reserve.

About Hodbarrow

Habitat

Overlooking the Duddon Estuary, Hodbarrow reserve comprises a freshwater lagoon within the seawall with rich flower and insect communities living on the limestone slag. Grasssland and scrub stretches inland to provide a haven for insects and breeding songbirds.

Conservation

We are managing the lagoon island to sustain breeding numbers of little terns, common terns and sandwich terns, and aim to increase little tern productivity. Work involves restricting plant growth and controlling the population of large gulls. We also use signs and patrols to restrict access during the breeding season, both on land and from boats.
We will work to maintain suitable conditions for at least 175 wintering red-breasted mergansers, as well as wintering teals, coots, little grebes, redshanks and dunlins, and breeding great crested grebes. This involves maintaining 50.4 ha of standing water, whilst preventing human disturbance, removing alien plants and monitoring daily for pollution.
We will create a varied age structure by cutting scrub annually and removing encroaching saplings. We will also control scrub on the calcareous grassland, and will maintain 25 per cent heather cover on acid grassland. Regular mowing will help us maintain appropriate sward heights, and we will leave 5–10% of the area as bare ground.
We aim to re-establish breeding natterjack toads in our shallow pools. This involves retaining water until July, with open feeding areas and bare banks for hibernation sites. We will also control aquatic vegetation, cutting back marginal growth and removing alien species, while maintaining 100 square metres of threatened pillwort.

Site information

105 ha of the site of the former Hodbarrow Iron Mine was purchased in 1986, 18 years after the mine closed.

A flooded lagoon now occupies much of the site which is part of the Duddon Estuary SSSI and the Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary SPA.

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Activities and events

Activities for children and families

For more information on events and to book tickets, please visit events.rspb.org.uk/hodbarrow

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