
Photo - Peter Bowden

Photo - Peter Bowden

Photo - Terry Joyce
Colne Point Nature Reserve
Colne Point nature reserve is currently closed to the public.
Please read the Trust's latest statement on Covid-19 for updates and further details.
Thank you for your support and patience, we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Know before you go
Parking information
The car park is currently closedWalking trails
A path leads up along Brightlingsea Reach to a hide at the end
Access
Wildlife Trusts members only or by prior consent.
There are shingle paths, where the terrain can be difficult at points. The reserve is liable to flooding and people can be cut off - please check tide times before going.
Dogs
Facilities
When to visit
Opening times
Wildlife Trusts members only, or by prior consentBest time to visit
All year roundAbout the reserve
Ray Creek winds through the maze of saltmarsh before flowing past the long shingle ridge that hugs the coastline. The mix of exposed mudflats, shell banks and shingle pools are host to a plethora of migratory waders in spring and autumn, providing a rich feeding ground, while during the winter months you can hear the distinctive ‘ruk-ruk-ruk’ of Brent Geese. Looking skywards, the reserve is an important point on the migratory route for many Finches, Chats, Pipits, Skylarks, Swallows and Martins. In the summer a small colony of Little Terns can be seen on the shingle bank, where they occasionally nest in this ideal habitat, along with many other breeding birds.
Look to the ground and you may catch site of some of the rare invertebrates that call this reserve home, with plenty of solitary bees and wasps that nest down in the sandy substrate. Colne Point is one of the only sites in the country to find a rare spider species that lives in the shingle!
In the rich saltmarsh habitat, you can find rare plant species such as Golden Samphire and Small cord-grass, while across the shingle and sand ridge Yellow Horned Poppy, Sea Poppy, Bindweed and Spurge thrive.
Species
Habitat
Contact us
Environmental designation
Photo - Terry Joyce
Did you know?
The Point is the best developed spit on the Essex coast!