Guest blog by Tony Thurston, Minsmere volunteer guide
Visitors to Minsmere today expect to arrive at the reserve, pay their entry fee or show their membership card, and have instant access to the reserve, but this has not always been the case. At one time visitors needed a permit to enter the reserve, although not on Tuesdays as the reserve was closed!
Permits could be obtained in advance by writing to the reserve warden, or obtained on the day at the reception hut, which was situated near to where the sand martin cliff is now. The car park was situated below the cliff where the pond is now.
Entrance to the reserve could not be guaranteed, however, as there was a limit on the number of visitors allowed on the reserve. If the reserve was "full" then regretfully a permit would not be issued and the unlucky visitors would not be allowed on the reserve.
This situation presented a problem for the beach hut volunteers. The beach hut was an information point situated near the beach entrance gate to the reserve, at the end of the North Wall. Here, volunteers would promote the RSPB to passing visitors, informing them about the work of the Society, Minsmere and its birds, gently persuade them to join the RSPB, and issue permits to the reserve. And this, of course, was the problem, because if the reserve was full then permits could not be issued.
The method of checking the status of the reserve was delightful. If a visitor wanted a permit, you had to take your binoculars, climb the shingle bank, and focus on the reception hut, which had a wonderful piece of modern technology: a semaphore signal! If the signal was up, you could issue a permit. If the signal was down then you had to advise the visitor that the reserve was full and they could not enter.
The system, although antiquated, worked well. However, it was eventually replaced in the late 1980s by a more modern method of communication in the shape of a second world war vintage army field telephone, complete with cranking handle!
Visitors today do not realise what an easy time they have (well, perhaps not).
[The beach hut eventually came down in the late 1990s, subsequently finding a home at other RSPB reserves - ed]
[Do you have any recollections of visiting Minsmere, especially from its inception as an RSPB reserve in 1947 to the opening of the current visitor centre in 1996? If you do, we'd love to hear them.]
I do remember that nearly all of the RSPB reserves had limited days and opening hours way back in the 1960's and early 1970's and practically all of the reserves back then had an entrance charge for non-members and members alike although a reduced charge for members, whether a permit was needed or not. Curiously enough The Lodge reserve was one of the few of the RSPB's reserves back in that period that was open 7 days a week and free admission to RSPB members, but again with limited hours of opening.
Regards,
Ian.