Exploring Leighton Moss – the north west’s largest reed bed

After what seems to have been a long overdue activity we managed to get out with the cameras this week.  Getting out on this trip was quite a contrast to a week or so ago when we had headed out to Cheshire to visit Dagfield Craft & Antiques Centre. If you missed that post you can read it at this link.

Our trip – and the focus of this blog post, was an enjoyable visit to the RSPB site at Leighton Moss Silverdale.

We picked this particular place to go as we had been there before (back in September 2022) and we knew it ticked the accessibility boxes – which is still a consideration for me with current limited walking capacity (distances and discomfort) following the June accident.

Leighton Moss

The RSPB site at Leighton Moss is big – apparently about as big as 2,500 football pitches and it has the largest reed bed in north-west England.

The site is home to quite a collection of wildlife that I gather includes Otters, Bearded Tits, Bitterns, Marsh Harriers, Egrets and Red Deer. Although there is no guarantee of course of just what you will see if you do visit.

It’s located in Silverdale in Lancashire and close to the Cumbrian border, just about four miles from the small town of Arnside, about 10 miles from Morecambe and about 75 miles or so from our home in the north west.

Easy access

There’s a decent sized car park at the site and with well maintained pathways and in some parts raised wooden walkways it’s easy enough to get around. There are a number of ‘hides’ and several marked accessible walkways.

I gather there is a separate Saltmarsh car park for the Allen and Eric Morecambe Hides.  

We spent about three hours or so there but didn’t make it to the ‘coastal hide’ that was just too far for me to walk at the moment. The weather was dry and for the most part overcast. The wildlife was fairly quiet although we did catch a glimpse of a Marsh Harrier – but too distant and fleeting to get pictures.

 

All in all we had a very enjoyable visit and I suspect we’ll be back again at some point over the winter

Picture set 1

Click any image to open a clickable and scrollable gallery of the first set of pictures from our trip to Leighton Moss

 

Picture set 2

Plenty of pictures of the robins – perhaps the bird that is always the most likely to pose for a picture. From the hides we saw a heron, egret and a Marsh Harrier

Click any image to open a clickable and scrollable gallery

Picture set 3

We didn’t make it quite as far as the Coastal Hide but enjoyed our walk to the Causeway Hide Click any image to open a clickable and scrollable gallery

Picture set 4

The pictures in this set are from our walk to the Causeway Hide.

Click any image to open a clickable and scrollable gallery

Picture set 5 – at Arnside

After our visit to Leighton Moss we headed for home via Arnside a small village with beautiful views across the beach

Click any image to open a clickable and scrollable gallery