|
Location Barnaby's Sands and Burrows Marsh reserves lie on the east bank of the River Wyre between Knott End and Hambleton. You can park at the free car park in Knott End and walk south on the public footpath. Alternatively, there is limited parking space on the minor roads at the owner's risk. |
Access You can visit the reserves at any time of year, no permit is required. Please keep to the footpath, the saltmarshes and soft mud can be dangerous. Don't forget to take your binoculars! Status Barnaby's Sands (67 ha) and Burrows Marsh (36.5 ha) are jointly managed by the Wildlife Trust and the Fylde Wildfowlers Association and owned by Cantaxx Energy Ventures. Both sites are part of the Wyre Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). |
Barnaby's Sands And Burrows Marsh
Nearest town: Knott End, Grid reference: SD 350 461 and SD 355 450, Landranger 102, Explorer 296
Barnaby's Sands and Burrows Marshes are the last extensive areas of ungrazed saltmarsh on the Lancashire coast. Linked in with the mudflats continuing all the way to Knott End, the marshes are important for wintering waders and wildfowl and provide a good day out for both the inexperienced and seasoned birdwatcher.
Of the waders, Redshank shares the mud with Knot, Snipe and Common Sandpiper. Wigeon, Pink-footed Geese and Red-breasted Merganser are among the visiting wildfowl. Cormorants are frequent visitors with Peregrines and Hen Harriers seen over the marshes during the winter months. Skylark and Reed Bunting regularly breed on the reserve. You might also hear the distinctive 'purr-weet' call of the Lapwing.
The saltmarsh vegetation on both sites is made up of 'zones': lower or pioneer, middle and upper zones. The lower marsh is dominated by Cord-grass, the spread of which causes concern as it colonises open mud and areas of the marsh become pure Cord Grass. Sea-purslane, Sea-blite and Saltmarsh-grass can be found in the middle marsh. There isalso some Sea Lavender and Lax-flowered Sea-lavender, Sea Aster and Sea Arrow-grass. This type of vegetation community is rare in Lancashire because many of the species are rapidly eliminated by grazing. Upper sections of the marsh include Thrift and Sea Purslane, but there is very little of this zone left because of the sea wall built around the edge of the marsh.
Arm Hill, part of Barnaby's Sands, is a glacial drumlin composed of boulder clay and covered with Gorse and acid grassland, providing a habitat for the rare Rock Sea-lavender found at only three other sites in the county. The shingle bank formed from the erosion of Arm Hill is home to Sea Wormwood, another rare plant.
