RSPB Frampton Marsh is the jewel in the crown of The Wash

The Wash estuary is regarded as one Europe’s most special places for wildlife, and the reserve at RSPB Frampton Marsh is the jewel in its crown – with something for every nature lover to enjoy.

Blessed with a variety of freshwater habitats, reedbeds and grasslands the 430-acre reserve provides visitors with close up views of birds including avocets, redshanks, skylarks and whimbrels during summer and in winter it is vitally important to thousands of migrating ducks, geese and breeding waders.

Dr Chris Andrews, visitor experience manager at RSPB Frampton Marsh, said: ‘Frampton Marsh is a fantastic wetlands reserve – a lot of it has been created from old arable fields and it has been turned into a wonderful place for all kinds of nature, not just birds, there’s a whole range of other exciting wildlife here too.

‘Thanks to its position, right on the shores of The Wash, a huge estuary with lots of mud flats, it’s the ideal place for enticing all sorts of birds to feed and breed throughout the year. In winter, in particular lots of ducks and geese come down from the Baltic and Siberia.

‘All the way back in 1984 when we bought the saltmarsh it was Britain’s best area for the breeding Redshank, and there is also a lot of Brent geese too.’

Since using a large area of arable land to expand the reserve in the mid 2000s, the RSPB has carried out a great deal of work turning fields into a freshwater nature reserve with deep pools, shallow pools known as scrapes, dipping ponds and areas of grassland.

In the space of 15 years the number of nesting avocets increased from zero to 140 nests, while the numbers of other birds, water voles, otters, rare spiders and rare moths are also on the up.

All of the areas are looked after in a way to keep them in perfect condition for the wildlife but they are also managed with visitors in mind, so they can get up close to the creatures and enjoy everything the site has to offer.

The reserve has been designed to be as accessible as possible and features more than 3kms of accessible footpaths.

There are three hides – two providing 360-degree views - while other facilities include a car park, toilets, a new visitor centre and café which opened in February, a play area, and a new picnic area is also due to open before the summer holidays.

‘It’s not just about the abundant wildlife,’ adds Chris. ‘The reserve is good for walkers, there’s a variety of different paths, some of them shorter, while the Macmillan Way and Meridian Way, both long distance footpaths, pass through.

‘For those just looking to get out in the fresh air, under Lincolnshire’s big skies, it’s a great place to come, especially for families who have an interest in nature.

We have lots of activities to enjoy such as bug hunting, pond dipping and treasure trails and there’s lots of fun things happening during the summer holidays.

‘RSPB Frampton Marsh is a fantastic place, and we want to keep expanding it and making it bigger.’

Entry to RSPB Frampton Marsh is £3 for adults, first child, under 5s, RSPB members and carers go free, additional children are £1.50 each.

l For more information on what to expect, visit rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/frampton-marsh/

*Which places do you like to explore in our area? Post your comments below or email andrew.brookes