Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Rye Harbour is popular not only with boaters but also with birds and other wildlife.
Its nature reserve is well worth a visit, whether you want to discover its wildlife and habitats, explore its history or simply experience the landscape and enjoy a walk beside the sea - whatever the season.
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a mosaic of habitats beside the sea with shingle, saltmarsh, sand dunes, rivers, pits, grazing marsh, reedbeds and farmland. Its network of footpaths leads to four birdwatching hides - three of which are accessible for wheelchairs - and there's an information centre.
The reserve lies within a large triangle of land extending south from Rye, along the River Rother, past Rye Harbour to the sea, westward to Winchelsea Beach and northwards along the River Brede. This triangle of land was largely designated as the Rye Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of the many unusual plants and animals that live here as well as the way the land has been built up by the sea over the last 500 years.
Shingle wildlife is specialised because of the harsh conditions that prevail, so there are many rare and endangered plants and animals to be found on the reserve.
Large gravel pits were created by shingle extraction and these have become a valuable habitat for wetland wildlife.
Most of the area enjoys the European wildlife designations of Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In 2006 the SSSI was included in the new 9,000 hectare site called the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI.