Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
![]() Breydon's western end at the River Yare confluence as viewed from Burgh Castle | |
Location | Norfolk |
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Grid reference | TG 493 072 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 514.4 hectares (1,271 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1987 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Designations | |
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Official name | Breydon Water |
Designated | 29 March 1996 |
Reference no. | 821 [2] |
Breydon Water is a 514.4-hectare (1,271-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. [1] [3] It is a Local Nature Reserve, [4] a Ramsar site [5] and a Special Protection Area. [6] It is part of the Berney Marshes and Breydon Water nature reserve, which is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). [7]
It is a large stretch of sheltered estuary. It is at the gateway to The Broads river system on the eastern edge of Halvergate Marshes. It is the UK's largest protected wetland. It is 5 km (3 mi) long and more than 1.5 km (0.9 mi) wide in places.
Breydon Water is overlooked at the southern end by the remains of the Roman Saxon Shore fort at Burgh Castle. Centuries ago, Breydon Water would have been one large estuary facing the sea. At the western end the water may be considered to start at the confluence of the River Yare and River Waveney; smaller sources including The Fleet flow in from the surrounding marshland. Safe passage for boats is indicated by red and green marker posts. Unlike most of the navigable waterways in the Norfolk Broads, Breydon Water is not subject to a speed limit.
At the east end of Breydon Water the river returns to a narrow channel, passing under Breydon Bridge after which it is joined by the River Bure then under Haven Bridge from where it is 4.4 km (2.7 mi) through the harbour into the North Sea.
At low tide there are vast areas of mudflats and saltings, all teeming with birds. Since the mid-80s, Breydon Water has been a nature reserve in the care of the RSPB. It has been a popular shooting area for centuries, and the shooting continues, but on a very much reduced scale.
In the winter, large numbers of wading birds and wildfowl use it to overwinter, including 12,000 golden plovers, 12,000 wigeons, 32,000 lapwings and tens of thousands of Bewick's swans. Other species that have been noted there include dunlin, sanderling, Eurasian whimbrel, several (escaped) flamingos, pied avocets and on one occasion a glossy ibis.
There is a bird observation hide at the east end of Breydon Water, on the north shore, looking out towards a breeding platform used mainly by common terns. Other breeding species include common shelducks, northern shovelers, Eurasian oystercatchers and yellow wagtails.
Naturalist Arthur Henry Patterson (1857–1935), who published under the pseudonym "John Knowlittle", extensively documented the wildlife of Breydon and the disappearing lifestyles of the boatmen, wildfowlers and fishermen who made a living from the estuary. [8]
Short sections of the Wherryman's Way and Weavers' Way long-distance paths follow the northern bank of the estuary from Yarmouth to Berney Arms, a distance of about 5 miles. Breydon Water is the site of events in Arthur Ransome's popular Swallows and Amazons series book, Coot Club .
The Broads is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, the whole area is frequently referred to as the Norfolk Broads.
Hickling Broad is a 600-hectare (1,500-acre) nature reserve 4 km south-east of Stalham, north-east of Norwich in Norfolk. It is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It is a National Nature Reserve and part of the Upper Thurne Broads and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest and Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the Broadland Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation.
The Halvergate Marshes are an area of grazing marsh in the east of the English county of Norfolk. They form part of the area of The Broads and lie between the River Bure and the River Yare, bordering Breydon Water on the east. The marshes cover an area of around 2,642 hectares An area of 1,432.7-hectare (3,540-acre) is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Some areas are also in the Breydon Water Local Nature Reserve, the Broadland and Breydon Water Ramsar sites, The Broads Special Area of Conservation, and The Broads and Breydon Water Special Protection Areas.
Berney Marshes and Breydon Water RSPB reserve is a nature reserve managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Berney Marshes is situated south of the River Bure while Breydon water is the combined estuary of the River Waveney and the River Yare inland from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England.
Berney Arms is a settlement on the north bank of the River Yare, close to Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. It is part of the civil parish of Reedham, in the district of Broadland, and lies within The Broads. It comprises a railway station, a windmill, a farmhouse and a pub which closed in late 2015. In 2020, an adjacent property opened as a bistro. The area is not accessible by public road.
The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the rivers Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse. It is a 620 km² biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, a National Nature Reserve, a Ramsar site, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area. It is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of it is the Snettisham Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve.
Martham Broad is a 60-hectare (150-acre) national nature reserve north of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. It is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and is part of the Upper Thurne Broads and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also part of the Broadland Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation.
Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6-hectare (6,211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area for birds, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
Walmore Common is a 57.78-hectare (142.8-acre) nature reserve on the flood-plain of the River Severn, west of the city of Gloucester in England and north of the village of Chaxhill. It was notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1966. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Nene Washes is a 1,522-hectare (3,760-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the bank of the River Nene east of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Area of Conservation, a Special Protection Area and a Nature Conservation Review site. An area of 280 hectares is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The total area of the Ramsar site is 1,517 hectares.
The Ribble and Alt Estuaries lie on the Irish Sea coast of the ceremonial counties of Lancashire and Merseyside in the traditional county of Lancashire in north-west England, and form the boundaries of a number of conservation schemes.
Chessel Bay is a 12.9-hectare (32-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the east bank of the River Itchen in Southampton in Hampshire. It is owned and managed by Southampton City Council. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and of Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It has been a local nature reserve since 1989
Castle Marshes is a 71 hectare nature reserve west of Lowestoft in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Barnby Broad and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest the Broadland Ramsar internationally important wetland site, the Broadland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation.
South Thames Estuary and Marshes is a 5,289-hectare (13,070-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches between Gravesend and the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. Part of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Estuary and Marshes Ramsar internationally important wetland site and Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Upper Thurne Broads and Marshes is a 1,185.9-hectare (2,930-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Part of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and it is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is part of the Broadland Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation. Two areas, Hickling Broad and Martham Broad, are national nature reserves managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary is a 1,077.3-hectare (2,662-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Lymington in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites. Three areas are local nature reserves, Boldre Foreshore, Sturt Pond and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes; the latter site is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Part of it is North Solent National Nature Reserve. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Areas of Conservation.
Boldre Foreshore is a 193.3-hectare (478-acre) Local Nature Reserve east of Lymington in Hampshire. It is owned by New Forest District Council and managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation, Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes, a nature reserve managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes is a 738-hectare (1,820-acre) nature reserve which stretches from Keyhaven along the south coast across the Lymington River in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. Some areas are part of two Special Areas of Conservation, Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons and Solent Maritime and Solent. It is also part of Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and of North Solent Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2. Two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites, and two are Local Nature Reserves, Boldre Foreshore and Lymington-Keyhaven Marshes.