South Essex Wildlife Garden

We'd like to inform our visitors that the RSPB Visitor Centre will be closing from the 26 May. The rest of the garden, with all its wonderful flora and fauna, will be open as normal. For any more information please contact SouthEssex@rspb.org.uk
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Address
RSPB Visitor centre, Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Essex, SS16 4UH.
Grid ref
TQ737863

Set within Wat Tyler Country Park, South Essex Wildlife Garden and Visitor Centre are the perfect place to find out more about the RSPB. Enjoy a stroll in peaceful surroundings and find out more about gardening for wildlife. You might even catch a glimpses of waders foraging in the mud in the tidal creeks around the Wat Tyler country park.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Open 10am to 4pm all year.

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 off-site
  • Accessible toilets off-site
  • No Refreshments
  • Picnic area
  • Binocular hire
  • Nature trails
  • Shop off-site

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

The nearest station is Pitsea and is around 1.6km or 1 mile away from the RSPB Wildlife Garden and Visitor Centre. For more information about train times please visit the C2C website before you travel.

By bus

The nearest stop is at Pitsea Tesco approx 2km from the Wildlife Garden. The no.5 bus running between Basildon and Pitsea stops here every 15-20 minutes Monday-Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sundays.

By road

If you’re arriving by car or cycle turn off the A13 at the Pitsea junction and follow brown tourist signs for Wat Tyler Country Park. Travel down Pitsea Hall Lane, go straight over the mini-roundabout. Drive approximately 1.6km then park in the 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.

Other ways to get there

If you're coming from Pitsea station (about 1.6km or 1 mile away), turn left and cross the level crossing. The entrance to the country park is 5-10 minutes walk.

Get directions from Google Maps
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

What will the weather be like?

14 degrees, Sunny day

Contact South Essex Wildlife Garden

What will you see?

Our star species

Recent sightings

Cuckoo Cuculus canorus, perched in the top of a tree, Co. Durham

Find out about recent wildlife sightings at South Essex Wildlife Garden.

read more

Seasonal highlights

In spring, cuckoos can be seen from the nature trails and swallows and martins over the scrape. Whitethroats and lesser whitethroats will now be singing in the scrub areas. Brimstone butterflies can be seen along the open glades. 

The wildlife garden is alive with insects feeding on our garden flowers. Look out for bees and butterflies and bug hunt with us in the garden.

In the autumn, peregrines regularly use the pylons as lookout points. The bird feeding area will now be busy - look out for jays and great spotted woodpeckers visiting the feeders, along with the more common garden birds.

In winter, the bird feeders from the visitor centre window are packed with house sparrows, great tits and blue tits looking for a meal. You may see ducks and waders in the creeks from the viewpoints around the country park.   

About South Essex Wildlife Garden

Habitat

The South Essex wildlife garden is a garden located within the Wat Tyler Country Park. 

Conservation

Set inside a SSSI, the South Essex Wildlife Garden has a number of features including a pond with a viewing platform, bug hotels, raised beds with herbs and other insect attracting plants and a woodland trail which is fantastic for blue bells in the spring. The main purpose of the Wildlife Garden is to engage with visitors on what they can do within their own garden whether large or small scale.

Site information

The RSPB South Essex Wildlife Garden and Visitor Centre is the perfect place to start looking for birds, with fantastic views of garden birds from the Visitor Centre window.

This site is also the gateway to our South Essex reserves, a network of green space made up of Bowers Marsh, West Canvey Marsh, Vange Marsh, Vange Wick, Stanford Wharf and Canvey Wick.

Latest blog posts

read our blog

Activities and events

Activities for children and families

There's always something going on for families on site. Watch the birds in the Wildlife Garden, discover minibeasts in our aquarium or follow the seasons on our live CCTV cameras 

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