Castle Marshes Nature Reserve

Castle Marshes Suffolk Wildlife Trust

By Steve Aylward

Norfolk hawker dragonfly - Jamie Hall

Norfolk hawker dragonfly - Jamie Hall

Castle Marshes Suffolk Wildlife Trust

By Steve Aylward

Fen raft spider on dew covered nursery web

Fen raft spider nursery web - Vincent Forte

Water soldier at Castle Marshes - Steve Aylward

Water soldier at Castle Marshes - Steve Aylward

Gadwall - Amy Lewis

Gadwall - Amy Lewis

Frogbit by Steve Aylward

Frogbit by Steve Aylward

Castle Marshes Suffolk Wildlife Trust

By Steve Aylward

Castle Marshes Nature Reserve

Castle Marshes is a Broadland site with grazing marsh, fen and freshwater dykes. In spring and summer wading birds such lapwing and redshank nest on the open marshes, and warbler and reed bunting nest in the reed margins. In winter the marshes are flooded to create expanses of open water for wintering wildfowl.

Location

Wadehall Lane, Barnby
Beccles
Suffolk
NR34 7QG

OS Map Reference

TM471904
A static map of Castle Marshes Nature Reserve

Know before you go

Size
71 hectares
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Entry fee

Free
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Grazing animals

Cattle graze areas.

Please refer to the link in walking trails below for more information.
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Walking trails

Do’s and don’ts when walking with livestock       
Good views anytime from river wall, river wall footpath can be muddy.

Trail Map

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Access

No wheelchair access.

No drone flying without express permission.
(Permission will only be granted in exceptional circumstances)

If you'd like to visit this reserve as a group, please contact us in advance.

Find out why we ask you to keep your dog on a short lead at most of our reserves and why this is important for wildlife conservation. Why we ask dogs are kept on a lead

Dogs

image/svg+xmlOn a lead

When to visit

Opening times

No public access but can be viewed from the Angles Way footpath along the river wall.

Best time to visit

April to September

About the reserve

A visit to Castle Marshes is a real dragonfly experience along with the chance to see a wealth of flowering aquatic plants and wetland birds. Castle Marshes is a Broadland site with grazing marsh, fen and freshwater dykes. In winter, the marshes are flooded to create expanses of open water for wintering wildfowl that swell the resident populations of wigeon, teal, shoveler and gadwall. In summer, the areas of reed and taller vegetation along the river wall and the marshes are home to breeding birds including reed, sedge and grasshopper warbler. Castle Marshes can also be a great place to see birds of prey like marsh harrier, peregrine falcon and hobby. Hobby can be seen hunting the many dragonfly species that are found here, flying with the same speed and manoeuvrability as a swift as they hunt over the dykes and scrapes.

Dragonfly species found here include scarce chaser, banded demoiselle and Norfolk hawker. Norfolk hawker dragonfly are a national rarity and can be seen hunting along the sparkling, unpolluted dykes in summer. These dykes are where rare plants like water soldier and frogbit, and beautiful plants such as flowering rush and arrowhead, hold forth. Another rarity that can now be spotted in the dykes is the fen raft spider, which was introduced to the site in 2011. A great success story as this species, which was once confined to only 3 sites in the UK, is now flourishing here. Fen raft spider prey on aquatic invertebrates such as pond skaters but will also hunt larger prey species such as adult dragonfly and stickleback fish. They are thriving at Castle Marshes because of the huge diversity of prey species in the dykes as well as the presence of water soldier where they like to build their nursery webs.

Contact us

Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Contact number: 01473 890089

Location map