Simpson's Saltings
“ A wonderfully lonely and isolated spot with an aura of timelessness.”
For some, the immediate appeal of Simpson’s Saltings is its openness and wide views of the Ore estuary. It is also one of the county’s most important coastal sites for its wealth of uncommon coastal and saltmarsh plants. (For this reason the Saltings can only be viewed from the sea wall.)
These plants grow amongst a mosaic of habitats including compacted sand, shingle, saltmarsh, inter-tidal mud and estuary creeks. Sea campion, thrift and bird’s-foot trefoil flourish here alongside many rarer plants such as sea kale, sea pea and sea heath. Rare and fragile lichens too, have developed in the absence of trampling feet.
Inter-tidal mud provides rich pickings for wading birds, while areas of sand and shingle make ideal nesting sites for ringed plover and oystercatcher. Little and common tern are a regular sight and during the autumn and winter migrations, wheatear and flocks of meadow pipit swell the numbers.
The reserve was generously purchased for Suffolk Wildlife Trust by Francis Simpson – a well known Suffolk botanist – with additional support from English Nature.
Oystercatcher probe the mud for juicy morsels and prize shellfish open with their chisel-like beaks
Other Trust reserves nearby: Sutton & Hollesley Commons
Special dates for your diaries
Best time to visit
May–Aug
Best autumn colour
September-December
Site Manager:
Mick's blog - follow Mick's work at Trust nature reserves.
- Address
Near Hollesley
Map › - Grid reference
TM 385455 - Map
OS Landranger 169 - Parking
HMP Hollesley Bay - Size
15 hectares (37.5 acres) - Local Facilities
Hollesley, Butley - Walking conditions
Can be wet and uneven - Access
No picnics or landing boats due to fragile plants - Dogs
On lead only - STAR SPECIES
Sea heath
Sea pea - Status
SSSI - Site of Special Scientific InterestA site of national importance identified by Natural England for its ecological or geological value.
Natura 2000 siteSites of European importance which host priority habitat types or priority species which are particularly at risk.
