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  • Medmerry

Medmerry

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Address
RSPB Medmerry, Selsey Road, Sidlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7NE
Grid ref
SZ816966
What3Words
eagles.specifies.type

Medmerry is one of 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 our neighbouring Pagham Harbour nature reserve, linked by public footpaths.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Nature reserve: open daily, at all times.

Visitor Centre: we have no visitor centre here at Medmerry, however  our nearby RSPB Pagham Harbour Visitor Centre is open every day 10am-4pm (closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day).

 

Entrance charges

Free entrance to RSPB members
Yes
Adults
Free
Children
Free
Car park cost

Free.

Facilities

  • Car park
  • Guided walks
  • Viewing point
  • Nature trails
  • 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 (8 miles). From there the Medmerry Cycle Link connects the Pagham Harbour and Medmerry reserves (1.8 miles).

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
View on What3Words
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Information for dog owners

Dogs are welcome on the public footpaths and bridleways around the nature reserve. Please keep to the designated rights of way only.

Please keep your dog on a lead and under close, effective control at all times, due to the sensitive wildlife and habitats and livestock here. It’s important to remember the special surroundings here are wonderful havens for rare wildlife. Even if dogs are very well behaved, wildlife and livestock can easily become startled by a loose dog they perceive as a predator.

Disturbing wildlife does more than simply causing it to move away; it uses up their energy, decreasing their chance of survival regardless of season. Thank you for protecting the special wildlife here by keeping your dog on a lead / under close, effective control.

  • Leads and dog bags are available from nearby RSPB Pagham Harbour Visitor Centre.
  • Dogs die in hot cars, please do not leave your dog in the car when visiting us.

Group booking information

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. 

Schools booking information

For information on our exciting programme of curriculum-linked outdoor education sessions, visit our school trips information. 

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.

Also, check out our fantastic range of resources for teachers, or take on the Schools’ Wild Challenge. 

Downloads

Helping you find your way around. PDF, 1.9Mb

Medmerry map

Pagham Harbour and Medmerry area map

Contact Medmerry

  • RSPB Medmerry, Selsey Road, Sidlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7NE
  • pagham.harbour@rspb.org.uk
  • 01243 641508
  • @RSPBPagham
  • Find us on facebook

What will you see?

Our star species

    Dark-bellied brent goose

    Brent goose

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

    Standing Lapwing illustration

    Lapwing

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

    Wading Avocet Illustration

    Avocet

    Avocets arrive in spring to breed on the Stilt Pools.

     Skylark illustration

    Skylark

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

    Male wheatear

    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.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • Winter

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.

Environment Agency
Sussex Ornithological Society

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

  • Upcoming changes to Pagham Harbour

    Pagham Harbour is dominated by its marvellous expanse of saltmarsh and mudflats, providing a vital home for nature. Mud might not sound particularly appetising to us, but our mud is crucial for the thousands of birds that are drawn in by it every yea...

    Posted 16/06/2022 by RoyN
  • New Beginnings up North.

    After a 17 year stay as warden of RSPB Pagham Harbour and Medmerry, February 2022 was a time of new beginnings. At the beginning of the month, I moved up to southwest Scotland to become the new warden for the RSPB reserve at the Crook of Baldoon. I h...

    Posted 12/05/2022 by The Warden
  • Celebrate your inner Robin on our adventure trail this Christmas

    Credit Aardman/Netflix).     We’re delighted to be partnering with Netflix and Aardman on Robin Robin, a half-hour, stop-motion, festive story for the whole family, about a young robin trying to fit in. It’s debuting on Netflix on 24 November – get t...

    Posted 13/11/2021 by RoyN
  • Litter Pick SC and Johnson

    If you are free on Sunday 25th, 10 am - 1 pm                                 or If you are free on Sunday 1st August, 10 am - 1 pm We need help with a litter pick! At Medmerry there are parts of the reserve that are not accessed regularly and there h...

    Posted 09/07/2021 by RoyN
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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).

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

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.

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