Don't Pick the Flowers
Collecting Flowers is Illegal
Plants and wildflowers are best enjoyed in their natural habitat .
Love Landguard
Visit Responsibly
Visit - Support - Explore - Enjoy - Share
Love Landguard – Visit Responsibly
Landguard a simply great place to enjoy nature on the Suffolk coast. Your visit is an opportunity to support nature too and both see and understand how and why the Landguard Nature Reserve team have been managing and protecting different habitats for the benefit of wildlife for over 50 years.
500,000
Pairs of feet
600+
Plant Species
400+
Years of built heritage
3
Site Designations
Landguard’s wild shoreline and mix of vegetated shingle, grassland and scrub is not only a designated Local Nature Reserve (LNR) but Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) too. Its shingle spit is home to rare and fragile plants, and to ground-nesting birds which also feed along the shoreline. To support and protect these habitats for the species that will thrive in them, we all have a responsibility to act appropriately and show nature the respect it deserves. It is their world, and a fragile one – we are their guardians and their guests.
Safeguarding nature’s valuable spaces
Like every nature reserve, you will see some restrictions in place at Landguard to help safeguard nature’s valuable space. There are very valid and important reasons behind each and every one of them. Please familiarise yourself with them, adhere to any additional guidance signed on site and bring your friends and family to visit as ‘Landguardians’.
No Kite Flying
Kite-flying Disturbs Wildlife
Kites can be difficult to control on the coast and may disturb birds.
No Camping
Tents & Camping Not Permitted
Camping negatively impacts sensitive flora and the ecosystem.
Fishing Restrictions
Seasonal Fishing Only
No fishing (seaward beach) to protect birdlife: 1 April - 30 Sept.
Respect the Cordons
Cordoned-off Areas
Physical barriers to protect nesting birds and their habitats.
No Motor Vehicles
Mobility Scooters Permitted
Vehicles, mopeds, scooters not permitted on the Reserve.
No Drone Zone
Flying Drones is Not Permitted
Drones stress and disrupt wildlife and pose safety risks.
No Metal Detectors
No Metal Detecting or Digging
Applies to anywhere on the Nature Reserve, including the beach.
How can you help to keep Landguard special?
Follow the paths
Landguard Nature Reserve has a number of main paths including a wide concrete one adopted by National Cycle Route 51. There is an extensive boardwalk which leads all the way to the shoreline by the mighty Victorian sea groyne at the mouth of the river Orwell estuary.
Both paths are accessible, being both buggy and mobility scooter friendly, and share the wide range of the Reserve’s habitats.
Walks & TrailsLeave only foot prints
The wild shoreline is an exhilarating place for a walk whatever the weather. You’ll also find some carefully managed ‘explorer’ paths through the fragile landscapes to view points, like the unmade path and steps to the ridge known as ‘the Butts’.
Exploring appropriately by sticking to managed paths and resisting the temptation to go off-piste, helps protect the Reserve’s fragile habitats and easily damaged landscapes.
Please tread lightly. Don’t harm nature in your activities, and use waste bins provided.
Days Out with Nature
Open your eyes
See the bee as well as the striking beauty of the flower. Notice the different colours of pebbles on the beach. Watch birds flock around tall teasels, to the backdrop of towering cranes and spikey masts …
Nature is more wonderful the deeper you look, or the more you appreciate its diversity. At Landguard, it’s the juxtaposition of the natural world thriving alongside the steely harbour-scape of the UK’s busiest container port that’s striking too.
What to look forLeave only paw-prints
Like other coastal nature reserves up and down the country, Landguard has a number of regulations in place around visiting the site with four-legged friends. This includes dogs not being permitted on the beach in the summer.
Thank you for being a responsible dog-owner by paying attention to on-site signage about on-/off-lead areas. Be sure to clean up after your dog and use waste bins provided.
Dogs at Landguard
Be picnic perfect
Pack a packaging- and plastic-free picnic. Take your reusable cup for that coffee-fix from the café afterwards. Find a spot well away from cordoned areas so that birds feeding from the shoreline can enjoy their lunch undisturbed too!
From benches by the river beach with harbour views to sheltered spots by the ‘Butts’, Landguard has some ace places rest up, tuck in and watch the world go by.
Best Places to Picnic Places to Eat
