The Summer Holidays are Upon Us
…and if you, like me, have the desire to go somewhere new but find your holiday funds depleted, do not despair, for the Master of Short Budget Trips is here to help!
I came, I saw, I conquered three great wildlife locations for you, dear reader. Except I haven’t yet been to one of them! These could either be visited in a day or over a short- weekend trip as they are within easy reach from Essex.
The first one is the Knepp rewilding project. I visited recently on a May Bank Holiday, and I am definitely going to go back there when it’s not 35 degrees Celsius! I managed to see nesting storks despite all that heat. It was unforgettable.
The second one is the Fens of Cambridgeshire, which is one of my favourite places in the UK. I have visited a few times, as I live quite near, but I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.
My third recommendation is Snettisham on The Wash in Norfolk. That one is still on my bucket list. So, let’s have a closer look…
White Stork Nest, Knepp
Knepp Estate, West Sussex
Known as the British Serengeti, Knepp is 3,500 acres of grazing based rewilding. While you are unlikely to see rhinos, leopards and elephants like on the real Serengeti, in Knepp you’re on a different kind of safari ride. One which shows you storks, turtle doves and purple emperor butterflies as well as deer, ponies and large grazing cattle. All free roaming with their young. We humans stick to the paths, they certainly don’t, so it is magical when they come into view.
The storks haven’t bred in the UK for about 600 years, so this is a big deal. You might also catch a sight of a beaver or more likely the unmistakable sign of their presence: the gnawed hourglass tree stump. They are another formerly extinct animal enjoying a comeback here.
If you are a more independent type, like me, you can walk around the estate and explore by yourself at any time of day as long as you’re mindful of the main car park closing at 7pm. If you can’t walk loads, don’t despair. There are three different routes and a safari ride available for a fee. Knepp also offers talks, workshops and courses, and you can stay on their rather glamorous camp site in the middle of it all!
The Fens, Cambridgeshire
Not many people know this, but The Great Fen Project is one of the most ambitious landscape restoration efforts in Europe. Set up in 2001, and funded for the next 50 years, its aim is reconnecting and improving fragments of this precious habitat. This once stretched out for hundreds of miles, yet 99% had been lost since the 17th century. Thanks to the conservation work, the current fens span over 9,000 acres from Lincoln and Boston in the North, Cambridge to the South and Peterborough to the West. The Fen Edge Trail connects them really well, with new routes being developed all the time. If you visit one of the reserves in July, you might not only spot marsh harriers, the native grey partridges with young, stonechats, wheatears and a cuckoo, you can also encounter over a 100 species of moths, including the red underwing. You can keep coming back there for years and never run out of things to see and places to explore.
RSPB Snettisham, Norfolk
Probably the furthest drive of the three, but also the most impressive if you are into your coastal habitats. I would personally visit this one in late August or in September because that’s when the migrating waders and wildfowl start coming back and pass through in great numbers. If you time your visit for the rising spring tides, you will see large flocks soaring through the air in search of dry land to roost on. A photographer’s dream!
Located on the southern shore of the Wash, the largest natural bay in England, the RSPB Norfolk Reserve hosts all the birds you know from our coast and more. And in greater numbers. They even have a Wader Watch point which is about a 1km walk from the main site. Just a word of warning: the place gets really busy on the spring tide days, so the only way to park in their main car park is to book your spot in advance with the local office or use a further, paid car park.
I’ve included a table with the spring tide dates for RSPB Snettisham below. For more information, visit the link at the end of the blog. If you don’t cherish crowds, just visit on any other day either in late summer or even before. In July, you will still see many amazing birds around like turtle doves, spoonbills, nesting gulls and terns.
Enjoy and let us know what you thought. Share your top tips with future Great Explorers!
-Lea
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