John Weston nature reserve
Walton-on-the-NazeMap Ref: TM 266 245.
Public Transport - Regular buses run from Clacton and Frinton via Walton station (train link to Colchester) and from the bus station on the front.
Small site not suitable for dog walking.
Directions
Head northwards along the coast road into Walton with the sea on your right. By the Eastcliffe Hotel take the left fork and follow Hall Lane and Naze Park Road for about a mile. This will bring you to the public car park on the cliff top where the tower is and footpaths run from there.
This 9 acre reserve lies within the Naze public open space. It consists of Blackthorn and bramble thickets, rough grassland and four ponds or 'scrapes', three of them excavated since the reserve was established. It is named after the late John Weston, a leading Essex naturalist who was warden of the reserve until his death in 1984.
Designation:
Site of Special Scientific Interest
What to look for:
Nesting birds include Common and Lesser Whitethroat, joined recently by Cetti's Warbler. Water Rail are seen and heard regularly. It is an important landfall for migrants, including many rarities, and also attracts a variety of winter visitors.
Notable among its flowering plants and grasses are Parsley Water-dropwort, Slender Thistle, Pepper Saxifrage, Fenugreek and Bush Grass.
A circular path runs along the eastern section and is good for butterflies and other insects in summer.
Access
The reserve acts mainly as a sanctuary although organised and casual visits are possible.
Did you know?
The cliffs are important geologically beacuse of a spectacular exposure of a sandy deposit called Red Crag, formed about 3 million years ago when the sea covered most of Essex and containing large numbers of fossils.