Medmerry

Address: RSPB Medmerry, Selsey Road, Sidlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7NE

Grid ref: SZ816966

Medmerry is one our ‘wild and wonderful’ reserves offering long walks and cycle rides through an amazing landscape of panoramic views and glorious sunsets. The result of one of Europe's largest managed realignment schemes, Medmerry is just a stone's throw from neighbouring Pagham Harbour and linked by public footpaths.

Plan your visit

Open at all times.

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: Free

Children: Free

Car park cost: Free.

Facilities

No visitor centre
Car park
Toilets off-site
Accessible toilets off-site
No Refreshments
Guided walks
Viewing point
Nature trails
Shop off-site
Educational facilities

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

The nearest railway station is Chichester, 7 miles away. Buses run from there.

If walking/cycling, turn south over the level crossing down Stockbridge Road for approximately 100m then turn left into Canal Basin. Immediately to the right is the canal path which is the start of Route 88 and ends at Pagham Harbour Visitor Centre. You can walk from there by public footpath to Medmerry reserve (1.8 miles).

By bus

The bus station is 2 minutes' walk from the train station. The 51 service from Chichester Bus Station to Selsey stops outside Pagham Harbour Visitor Centre. From here you can access Medmerry by public footpath (1.8miles). The 52 Witterings service stops at the end of Clappers Lane, from there walk along Clappers Lane to Earnley Church where the reserve is signposted (0.7miles).

By bike

Route 88 from Chichester ends at Pagham Harbour visitor centre. From here you can get further information on how to access Medmerry via road.

By road

From the A27 at Chichester, take the A286 south towards The Witterings for 3.9miles and then the B2198 to Bracklesham. After 1.8miles turn left into Clappers Lane – the reserve is signposted at the end of the lane.

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

Groups are very welcome to visit the nature reserve. However there is no coach parking available and car parking is very limited. With this in mind we ask that groups liaise with us in advance by email to pagham.harbour@rspb.org.uk or by phone 01243 641508 so we can help ensure that you get the most out of your visit. We may also be able to offer guided walks.

School visits to Medmerry are curriculum-linked, hands-on and fun. We provide all equipment – children only need to bring suitable clothing, drinks and packed lunches.

Our secondary programmes are customisable to suit your requirements and are designed to take all day:

KS3 Geography - Fieldwork
KS4 Geography - Coastal Landscapes and Management
KS5 Geography - Coasts

13 degrees, Sunny day

Downloads

Helping you find your way around. PDF, 2.8Mb

RSPB Medmerry trail guide

Contact Medmerry

RSPB Medmerry, Selsey Road, Sidlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7NE
pagham.harbour@rspb.org.uk
01243 641508

What will you see?

Our star species

Brent goose

Brent geese come to the coast in large numbers. They can be seen here from October to spring.

Lapwing

In spring, the marshes will be full of lapwings performing their courtship displays, they are also present here in winter.

Avocet

Avocets arrive in spring to breed on the Stilt Pools.

Skylark

Skylarks nest in the fields and saltmarsh. Watch them displaying and singing overhead in spring.

Wheatear

The arrival of wheatears from March is a sure sign that spring has arrived.

Nature spectacles

Springtime at the stilt pools is enchanting as our emblematic wader, the avocet settles down to breed. Find yourself a vantage point and witness the trials and triumphs of arguably one of our UK’s most elegant birds, from graceful mating to the dramatic chasing off of predatory gulls twice the size of these feisty little birds. The youngsters, looking like little pom-poms on legs, are a joy to watch as they mimic the adults feeding behaviour within hours of hatching.

Medmerry is a great place to observe birds of prey and if you brave the bleak winter weather you may be rewarded with the thrill of the chase. As well as vast numbers of wildfowl and waders, the season also brings linnets and finches gathering in large flocks. Like an explosion, the air erupts in a cloud of birds signifying the arrival of a hunting peregrine or merlin hurtling onto the scene like a missile. The sight of predator and prey locked in aerial pursuit is an experience to quicken the pulse and never be forgotten. This is nature in its rawest and most fundamental form, an intense life and death battle of agility, strength and guile.

Spring is a glorious time at Medmerry as the skylarks start to sing, lapwings and redshanks display, and the flowers along the banks come into bloom. Swallows come in over the sea, zipping low over the pools and avocets settle down to breed on the Stilt Pools.

Water voles paddle along ditches looking for fresh shoots to eat while dragonflies patrol overhead, meadow browns and other common butterflies flit along the grassy banks and beach. Corn buntings, yellowhammers and other farmland birds can be found singing along fence wire and posts.

Wigeon, teal, shoveler and other wildfowl, geese and waders start to arrive in large numbers, while great flocks of hirundines gather preparing from their journeys south. Wheatears and whinchats can be seen on migration around the reserve and ospreys stop off to fish.

Midwinter can be a bleak time, but pull on your thermals as this is one of the best places for birds of prey anywhere along the Sussex coast. There is the chance of short-eared owls and barn owls, along with merlins and peregines chasing goldfinch and linnets. Flocks of brent geese, golden plovers and lapwing gather to feed and roost.

About Medmerry

Habitat

Intertidal mudflats and saltmarsh – Medmerry’s mudflats and saltmarsh continue to develop naturally bringing in a wealth of new wildlife, from plants, fish and invertebrates to the birds that feed on them.
Farmland – Winter stubble, uncropped margins and sown bird and bee mixes provide autumn/winter food for farmland birds and wildlife. Rough grass margins offer suitable habitat for small mammals which in turn attract owls and kestrels that prey on them. Cereal crops and the hedgerows that line them provide nesting opportunities for corn buntings, yellowhammers, partridge, skylarks and lapwing.
Grassland - Grassland provides winter food at high tide for wildfowl such as wigeon, snipe and brent geese, and breeding sites for redshank and lapwing in spring.
Saline lagoons – The lagoons have been created with islands to attract breeding shorebirds and are used by avocets, oystercatchers, ringed and little ringed plovers.
Freshwater ponds and ditches – As well as providing habitat for freshwater invertebrates and the wildlife that feed on them, many of our ponds and ditches also support a community of reedbed specialists from reed and sedge warblers to reed buntings and little grebes.
Other habitats include scrub and shingle beach.

Conservation

The largest realignment of the open coast ever undertaken in the UK reached its climax in September 2013. Called ‘Medmerry’, it is an Environment Agency flood protection scheme, created in partnership with the RSPB and forming vital new intertidal wildlife habitats. This five-minute video tells the story of its creation.

Working alongside partners and landowners, we use cattle and sheep to graze grassland. Sheep are used on the banks for plants and wildflowers, while cattle work their way across the transitional marshes keeping the grass low for winter wildfowl that prefer fresh growth such as wigeon, snipe and brent geese, and low grass for breeding birds in the spring, including redshank and lapwing. Some of the lagoons and ponds are grazed as well and we clear the islands of vegetation during winter in preparation for the breeding shorebirds in spring.

With the help of farmers on arable stewardship schemes, we are able to provide margins and winter stubble and also sow wild bird mixes to provide food and cover throughout the year for turtle doves, yellowhammers and other farmland birds.

By carrying out rotational ditch management we optimize our freshwater habitat for water voles, amphibians and dragonflies.

We provide habitat for reptiles which are continually monitored to track their progress and development.

Working with IFCA we monitor fish species and stocks which gives us an indicator of the saltmarshes health and stage of development.

Surveys are carried out throughout the year to establish how the reserve is ecologically developing.

Partners

Medmerry has developed into a fantastic home for nature, helped by the tremendous support of many individuals, groups and organisations. In addition to the tremendous work of the Environment Agency, it is important to note the significance of support from RSPB members and supporters, local community members and a tireless team of volunteers.

We would also like to thank the Sussex Ornithological Society, the Peacock Trust, local residents and other charitable trusts for donations that helped secure a strategic land purchase in the early stages of this project and Natural England through Defra for ongoing support.

Site information

Medmerry is one our ‘wild and wonderful’ reserves and as such has no toilets, facilities or hides. Therefore we recommend that you start your visit at the nearby Pagham Harbour visitor centre. There you can get the latest information about visiting both reserves, the best places to see the wildlife and use the amenities.

Medmerry is a vast site, but we worked with the Environment Agency to make it as accessible as possible, given the constraints. As a site of national importance for wildlife, it is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Latest blog posts

read our blog

Activities and events

Activities for children and families

Medmerry is a great place for families wanting to explore by bike. There are 7km of permissive cycle routes around Medmerry. Further information is available from our Pagham Harbour Visitor Centre at Sidlesham.

During the school holidays we also run special family events from our nearby Visitor Centre at RSPB Pagham Harbour, from pond dipping, bug hunting and arts and crafts, to seashore safaris, mud-sifting and seasonal themed events. (Children must be accompanied by an adult).

Leisure activities

Being an undeveloped oasis in the county’s coastline, coupled with its limited accessibility, Medmerry really does give one a sense of one of Sussex’s last natural wildernesses.

As well as being a haven for wildlife, Medmerry is a walker’s paradise with miles of footpaths and big open landscapes to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. A walk to the beach on a clear day is rewarded with views of the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower, while on a blustery day it’s a great way to blow away the cobwebs and clear your mind.

For photographers and artists there are opportunities and inspiration everywhere, with panoramic views, dramatic skies and a wealth of subjects, colours, tones and textures that change from season to season and day to day. We run Wildlife Photography and Painting Workshops from our Pagham Harbour Visitor Centre throughout the year if you are keen to improve your skills.

Permissive cycleways run the length of the reserve and are a great way of getting around while gaining a sense of the scale of Medmerry.

Horse-riding is permitted on the bridleways below the bank. For further information, contact RSPB Pagham Harbour.

Events

September

Saturday 21 September

The Great British Beach Clean
West Sussex

More events