Top 20 Lakes in Hampshire

Beautiful spot with plenty of wildlife

As others have said, the area around this pond is crucially important for endangered birds from April to August and should be avoided during these months to give the wildlife the time and space it needs to safely raise their babies.

If you're walking with a dog that has a tendency to find mud, I recommend keeping it on a lead on the sea wall if the sea is any distance at all from the wall. Smelly, gloopy mud is present just about anywhere between Lymington and Milford-on-Sea!

Lovely quiet roads, watch out for the cattle grids

Walked to this pond early April. Ground comparatively dry due to very low rainfall in March. No signage seen for nesting birds.

The marshes were once used as salterns for the thriving salt industry. The salterns are first mentioned in 1132, and continued in use until 1865. They were replaced by oyster beds, but are now disused marshland with some enclosing banks. A circular mound 1.2 metres high and 12 metres across is all that remains of a mill, and there is another mound with an overgrown brick structure and rectangular pond of unknown date. Just north of the marshes, in Lower Pennington, are several 18th-century salt boiling houses. The marshes are a site of special scientific interest and an area of outstanding natural beauty. They are part of the New Forest National Park, and in summer are grazed by cattle and ponies owned by New Forest commoners. Part of the marshes behind the sea wall are a national nature reserve managed by English Nature, and a local nature reserve managed by Hampshire County Council. Part of the intertidal mudland is also a nature reserve. The marshes and tidal muds offer a variety of wildlife habitats, which are important for gulls and terns in spring/summer and waders and wildfowl in autumn/winter.

Lymington Reedbeds nature reserve is home to a range of fascinating species. Sea birds are abundant and warblers sing all through the year. Migratory birds return to the reedbeds time after time, and during the winter the reserve come to life with waders and water fowl. If you’re lucky, you may even spot an otter or a water vole. Whether you’re a keen birder or simply looking to reconnect with nature, Lymington Reedbeds Nature Reserve is a wonderful place to visit. In the spring, vibrant marsh-marigold bring a welcome splash of colour to the reserve and the air is filled with the songs of sedge and reed warblers. As autumn arrives, watch migrant birds such as yellow wagtail, swallow and martins build up their food stores and rest among the reeds before they depart for warmer climes.

Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes is a beautiful area of coastline. The internationally important coastal marshes and mudflats are teeming with fish and, as a result, thousands of sea birds and waders flock here. The Trust leases the offshore coastal marsh and mudflats to help protect this unique and historical coastal habitat. Covering nearly 740 hectares between the mouth of the Lymington River and the village of Keyhaven, this coastal reserve offers fantastic views across the Solent to Hurst Castle and the Isle of Wight. Although this is our largest nature reserve, it is not one for exploring but for admiring the stunning vistas. Visit in the spring to see arriving migrant birds such as wheatear, swallow and tern. Vast numbers of black-headed gull can be found nesting on the islands among the mudflats and open water. Out at sea, cormorant dive for fish beneath the waves. Listen to the distinctive high-pitched sounds of redshank and oystercatcher as they wade through the marshes, looking for crustaceans, fish and molluscs to feed on. In summer, discover specialist, salt-tolerant plants among the shingle banks on Hurst Spit. Yellow horned-poppy, sea campion and sea aster flourish here, surviving the salt spray carried on the breeze.