Dog Walks in Sussex: Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Living in the South-East of England, we are lucky to have so many beautiful places to take our dachshund for a walk and experience nature first hand right on our doorstep. However we are always looking for new places to walk, and a recent location we visited for the first time was Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, which we found to be a brilliant place to walk with our dachshund.

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a stunning and diverse natural area located on the southeast coast of England. Situated near the historic town of Rye in East Sussex, the reserve encompasses a wide range of habitats, including salt marshes, sand, shingle ridges and scrub, covering an area of flat low-lying ground over approximately 465 hectares. With its rich biodiversity and picturesque landscapes, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts, birdwatchers, and nature lovers.

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, a leading conservation organisation dedicated to preserving and protecting the area's natural heritage. The reserve offers a unique blend of natural beauty, ecological significance, and cultural history, while also being dog-friendly making it a popular destination to visit and bring your dog along for a walk.

One of the most striking features of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is its birdlife. The reserve serves as an important breeding, feeding, and resting site for a wide variety of avian species, including rare and migratory birds. Throughout the year, visitors can spot elegant wading birds like avocets, redshanks, and lapwings, as well as terns, gulls, and a diverse array of waterfowl. The reserve's network of hides and observation points provides excellent opportunities for birdwatching and photographers, allowing enthusiasts to observe these birds in their natural habitats. As we are keen amateur wildlife photographers this was another draw for us for this location, alongside being dog friendly.

Apart from its birdlife, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve hosts an impressive range of plant and animal species. The reserve supports more than 456 species of flowering plants, including sea kale, sea pea, and sea campion, while the shingle beaches and dunes are also home to specialised plants like the yellow horned-poppy. Visitors may also encounter more than 2,321 species of invertebrates such as the spangled button beetle and the medicinal leech, and also larger animals such as the marsh frog which has a particularly distinctive sound during the summer months.

To explore the reserve, visitors can follow a network of well-maintained trails and footpaths, with various guided walks, events, and educational programs throughout the year, catering to both adults and children accessed via the Discovery Centre on site. These activities offer a chance to learn about the reserve's ecology, conservation efforts, and the importance of preserving such fragile ecosystems.

For dog lovers, it’s also worth noting that the Discovery Centre is dog friendly too in most of the areas (with the exception of the classroom and any areas being used for special events) provided you keep your dog on a short lead. This includes the Lime Kiln Café which serves a variety of hot and cold food and drinks for purchase. We visited the cafe for lunch during our visit with our dachshund, which was very welcome on a warm day, as quite often facilities in these sorts of locations are not dog friendly, so this made a nice change. Parking was also free, in a large car park just outside the entrance to the reserve.

Overall, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve was a brilliant location for a gentle flat dog walk with our dachshund, and had great dog-friendly facilities too.