Pulborough Brooks

Address: RSPB Pulborough Brooks, Wiggonholt, Pulborough RH20 2EL

Grid ref: TQ058164

Located within the Arun Valley in West Sussex, Pulborough Brooks has beautiful views across to the South Downs and is set in one of the richest areas for nature in the country. The nature reserve has a great variety of habitats and is home to some wonderful wildlife.

Plan your visit

The visitor centre is open 9.30am – 5pm daily (except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day).

The nature trail is open daily from dawn to dusk, except Christmas Day.

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: £6

Children: £3

Student: £4

Other discounts

Facilities

Visitor centre
Car park
Toilets
Accessible toilets
Cafe
Picnic area
Binocular hire
Guided walks
Viewing point
Nature trails
Shop
Educational facilities

Accessibility

Download full accessibility statement (PDF)

How to get here

By train

The nearest station is Pulborough 2 miles (4 km) from the reserve. Taxi's are available.

By bus

Compass Bus 100, from Burgess Hill to Horsham, stops at Pulborough train station and serves the stop immediately outside the reserve. It is a request stop, so you will need to ask the driver to drop you outside the reserve when you board.

By road

Located approximately 2 miles/3.2 km from Pulborough village. Follow the A283 towards Storrington. The reserve is located on the right-hand side.

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

The reserve is 2.5 miles/4km via road and public footpath from Pulborough railway station. The public footpath that crosses the nature reserve can be very wet and muddy following rain and can be impassable if the river has flooded.

Get directions from Google Maps

RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Groups are very welcome to visit the nature reserve and coach parking is available. Groups of 10 or more must book in advance by email to pulborough.brooks@rspb.org.uk or by phone 01798 875851 so we can help ensure that you get the most out of your visit. Youth groups are also welcome and we can offer a variety of hands on activities - please contact us to discuss arrangements.

Occasionally, if there are already several visiting groups, or we're running a special event, we might suggest that you choose an alternative day, rather than find your favourite spots on the reserve busy (or encounter long queues in the cafe). We may also be able to offer guided walks.

School visits to Pulborough Brooks are curriculum-linked, hands-on and fun, with a wide range of habitats to explore all year round. We can accommodate up to three large classes of children per day.

We provide all equipment - children only need to bring suitable clothing, drinks and packed lunches. For more information see our school visit pages.

Primary sessions (approximately two hours)

EYFS & KS1: Brilliant birds / Discovering Land Minibeasts / Discovering Pond Minibeasts / Seasonal Sensory Walk / Plant Detectives.
KS2: Investigationg Rivers, Investigating Minibeasts / Living Things and their Habitats / Pond Habitat Study / Rocks and Soils / Discovering Birds.

Secondary sessions (customisable to suit your requirements, designed to last all day)

KS3: Geography - Fieldwork / Science - Ecological Investigations and Sampling.
KS4: Geography - Ecosystems / Science - Fieldwork Techniques / Science - Managing for Water Quality.
KS5 Biology: Sampling Biodiversity / Succession / Human Impact.

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Helping you find your way around

Contact Pulborough Brooks

RSPB Pulborough Brooks, Wiggonholt, Pulborough RH20 2EL
pulborough.brooks@rspb.org.uk
01798 875851

What will you see?

Our star species

Peregrine

The fastest falcon is a regular during winter, causing panic amongst the many ducks and waders as it hunts.

Barn owl

Linger until dusk to watch the ghostly form of barn owls hunting over the grassland.

Lapwing

Watch their acrobatic displays in spring and marvel at the huge flocks that gather on the brooks in winter.

Nightingale

Nightingales breed in the hedgerows and scrub. Listen for their song in late April and May.

Wigeon

Large 'herds' of these colourful ducks can be seen grazing and heard whistling from October through to March.

Nature spectacles

Every season at Pulborough Brooks has its highlights but if you're looking for something truly magical here are our suggestions...

Experience the magic of a springtime walk where you'll be serenaded by a choir of warblers and our virtuoso performer the nightingale. Meanwhile on the wetlands our lovely lapwings will be displaying acrobatically before nesting and raising their precious and beautiful chicks.
Head to the ponds and ditches in search of dragons and damsels - we're one of the top sites for dragonflies and you can hear the clash of wings as these fearsome predators do battle over the prime perches. Visit at dusk in June and July for one of our night-time safaris where mysterious nightjars chur on the heath, bats zoom above your head and you can spot twinkling glow worms in the undergrowth.
The woodlands turn golden in autumn and you can discover a rainbow of fungi, including the amethyst deceiver and green elf cup, by following our trail around the wooded heath.
Head down to Hanger View in winter - one minute all seems calm with the wigeon gently whistling as they graze and then chaos ensues as thousands of birds take to the air in panic - it must be the peregrine falcon out hunting.

Experience a stunning dawn chorus as our resident birds - the blackbirds, song thrushes and wrens - are joined by a host of warblers and the nightingale. The nightingales serenade visitors both all day and all of the night from mid April and through May - despite their reputation for being elusive, the Pulborough Brooks nightingales don't skulk but sing proudly whilst out in the open.

Watch the acrobatic aerial displays of the lapwing and listen to their 'peewit' calls as they tumble and loop over the wetlands. Spot your first cuckoo or swallow for the year - spring has arrived! Wander through a woodland carpeted with bluebells, accented with the white of greater stitchwort and the pink of campions. Scan the wetland pools carefully for wading birds like greenshank using us as a service station to rest and refuel on their northward migration.

Take a walk along the sandy paths on the heath to find some of our heathland superheroes - fast and fierce green tiger beetles, minotaur beetles and pantaloon bees. Admire a kaleidoscope of butterflies feasting on the nectar of yellow fleabane and purple knapweed on the zig-zag path. Look around the ponds and ditches for darting dragonflies with jewel-like colours and you might just see a hobby swooping in to catch one. Join a night-time safari and experience the magic of the reserve 'after hours' - hunting barn owl, churring nightjar, flitting bats and magnificent moths.

Migrating spotted flycatchers, redstarts and whinchats perch on hedgerows and fencelines, filling up on insects before heading further south. Mud glorious mud - passage waders including green and wood sandpipers, greenshank and ruff can be found probing in the soft mud on the pool edges. Explore the woodland and find fascinating fungi including the red and white spotted fairy-tale fly agaric. Sample one or two juicy blackberries but make sure to leave plenty for the comma butterflies, common lizards, wood mice and voles who enjoy them too.

In winter, wrap up warm and head to the wetland hides and viewpoints to see both predators and prey - this is the best time to see short-eared owls, barn owls, hen & marsh harriers, peregrines and merlins hunting over the reserve.

Thousands of wintering ducks, geese and waders use the flooded brooks - look for colourful wigeon, dainty teal and elegant pintail amongst the ducks. Noisy flocks of redwing and fieldfare roam the reserve, finishing off any last berries in the hedgerows before plundering the fields for food. Get up early and you could see families of Bewick's swans waking up and leaving their night-time roost. Challenge yourself by searching for a sneaky snipe - these beautiful but well camouflaged birds are tricky to spot unless they come out to ice skate on cold winter days.

About Pulborough Brooks

Habitat

The lowland wet grassland is part of the Arun Valley floodplain and is criss crossed by ditches which host some incredibly rare and special creatures and plants. The grassland, pools and scrapes provide feeding areas for our wintering wildfowl and nesting areas for our wading birds. On higher ground we are developing wildflower meadows and managing arable fields for winter finches. These are linked by hedgerows and scrub to woodland areas, all of which are vital for our nesting songbirds, small mammals and bats.

We're gradually restoring an area of lowland heath which now features ling and bell heather as well as cross-leaved heath. Along with acid grassland, wooded edges and bare ground it is home to some specialist heathland wildlife including breeding nightjar, green tiger beetles and small red damselfly.

Conservation

A combination of controlled flooding, grazing and hay cutting are used to manage the wet grassland to create a healthy mosaic of grassland habitats and the perfect conditions for wintering wildfowl such as wigeon, teal, pintail and black-tailed godwits and for our breeding waders such as lapwings, redshank and occasionally snipe.

The wet grassland is criss-crossed with ditches which are home to some very special wildlife including the rare and threatened Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail (Anisus vorticulus). The ditches are cleared out on rotation which ensures that we can move water around the site but that we also retain sections with plenty of vegetation as a refuge for the wildlife.

In summer 2017, as part of the Heritage Lottery Funded 'Back from the Brink' project we'll be creating more scallops and ditch spurs along our ditch system which will act as a refuge for the special snail and other aquatic species.

Woodland, scrub and hedgerow are all important for our breeding songbirds, such as nightingales, blackcaps and whitethroat and during the autumn and winter months we carry out coppicing, pollarding and hedge laying to ensure there are both established trees and new growth. The management of the blackthorn hedgerows is done with the brown hairstreak butterfly in mind - this rare and elusive species lays its eggs in the fork between new and old blackthorn growth.

We are managing our small arable plot for the benefit of a wide range of wildlife to provide seed for winter finch flocks, nectar for bees and butterflies, harvest mouse nesting habitat and we hope to attract turtle doves to the site in future. This involves ploughing and leaving some patches as fallow and planting of special seed mixes in other sections.

On the south-eastern part of the reserve, we are restoring a 25-hectare area of lowland heath, bare ground and acid grassland to provide more habitat for birds such as nightjars, and specialist invertebrates including tiger beetles, digger wasps and mining bees. Our restoration work began with the felling of the modern conifer plantations on areas of former heathland. This enabled the heather seed present in the ground to germinate and grow. A network of pools has also been created and these are now fantastic for a number of dragonfly and damselfly species including black darters and small red damselfly.

Work continues on the heathland as there is a constant need to control scrub and bracken growth, and to create and maintain the scrapes of bare ground that are so important to the invertebrate populations. This work forms part of the Heritage Lottery Funded 'Heathlands Reunited' project - a partnership project led by the South Downs National Park Authority aiming to create bigger, better and more joined up heathlands across the South Downs.

Partners

The new play area has been part-funded under the “Pulborough Brooks – improving the family offer” project by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through the RDPE LEADER funding programme, via the Central Sussex Local Action Group.

The play area has also been supported by the Postcode Local Trust, a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Site information

The reserve covers 256 ha of wet grassland, woodland, hedgerows, meadow and heath and is located within the South Downs National Park. The wet grassland has SSSI and Ramsar status and is part of the Arun Valley SPA and SAC recognizing our important populations of overwintering wildfowl and specialist plants and invertebrates in the ditches.

Latest blog posts

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What people are saying about Pulborough Brooks

Our first visit to an RSPB reserve, and it was a fantastic day. Our six year old loved sitting in the hides watching the birds and cows! We saw many new bird species as we only really see common garden birds. Cafe is very nice - hot chocolate lovely on a chilly day. The staff were all very friendly, cheerful and helpful. On the back of this visit we have joined, as a family, to the RSPB.

The Shadbolt Family

Thank you for a really lovely, interesting day. I really loved looking for all the mini-beasts in the woods. Pond-dipping was great fun and we found a lot of fantastic species. Lorna our guide was brilliant - she really taught me a lot. Thank you so much, I definitely want to come back again with my family. Brilliant school trip.

Lily Mansfield

We visit this reserve almost every week and it never ceases to delight and surprise us. The view from the Hanger is fantastic and is where we saw our first ever peregrine falcon. That was a day we will never forget. The staff are fantastic, always friendly and helpful. The cafe provides excellent food and a great breakfast if you've had an early morning start during the week!

Debbie and Malcolm Wiltshire

Activities and events

Activities for children and families

Whatever day you choose to come as a family there will be nature-themed activities for you to try as you explore the wetland trail, and our Wildlife Explorer Meadow is a great place to picnic and play.

You can get involved with the Wild Challenge, hire a bug hunting kit or join one of our special 'Wild Families' events over the holidays. In summer you could try pond dipping, or join us on a snakehunt, whilst in autumn you can go Wild in the Woods, build a den and hunt for bugs.

If you have pre-school age children we run a fortnightly Little Wild Things group.

Leisure activities

Getting closer to nature: We run a busy programme of events with introductory walks, birdsong masterclasses and night-time safaris and there are always nature-themed activities for families to take part in.
Photography: The reserve is good for photography - especially for dragonflies and butterflies in the summer - and we run photography workshops at the reserve if you're keen to improve your skills.
Archaeology and history: The views across the Arun Valley and up to the South Downs are stunning from the Bronze Age tumuli on the heathland. Many of the lumps and bumps in this area result from more recent activities - the site was used for training by Canadian troops during the Second World War.