Description
The reserve lies to the north of A149 coast road, starting just west of Burnham Overy Staithe and extending west past Holkham to Beach Road, Wells-next-the-Sea. It also includes the tidal salt marshes continuing further east to Blakeney. Its total area of about 3,900 ha (9,600 acres) makes it the largest NNR in England. The reserve can be accessed by footpaths from Wells and the local villages including the Peddars Way/Norfolk Coast long-distance trail that traverses the main part of the reserve, and National Cycle Route 1 loops through the core of the NNR between Holkham and Wells. There is a car park near Holkham village at the north end of Lady Anne's Drive that gives access to two bird hides, and another parking area at the end of Beach Road in Wells. To the east of the Wells channel, the reserve is mainly salt marshes and mud flats, and is difficult and potentially dangerous to access, although a public footpath runs along the southern edge of these tidal areas.
The salt marshes on this coast are stated in the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notification document to be "among the best in Europe ... the flora is exceptionally diverse". Holkham also has good examples of sand dunes, and the pines planted on the dunes have provided shelter for other trees and shrubs to become established, making this the only substantial area of woodland in the North Norfolk Coast SSSI. The dunes are created and altered by the elements, and the sand islands in Holkham Bay were formed only within the last 60 years. The flat ground inland from the dunes is reclaimed salt marsh that was used as pasture until the 1940s, but converted to arable land during World War II. The value of the fields to wildlife was reduced by the resulting lower water table, but Natural England's management measures have raised the water levels, attracting breeding and wintering birds. Water management can also be used to ensure a high water table in summer, benefiting breeding waders, and drier conditions in winter, preferred by the geese. The management of water levels and grassland increased the numbers of breeding wetland birds from 120 pairs of ten species in 1986 to 795 pairs of 26 species in 1994, and the number of wintering birds of four key wildfowl species rose from 1,215 to 17,305 in the decade from 1983/84.
Read more about this topic: Holkham National Nature Reserve
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