Following the latest government advice we have made the difficult decision to close our Rainham Marshes visitor centre, café, shop, and hides to visitors. This will take effect from 5 pm on Friday 20 March. This is to prioritise the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers and visitors. (Keep reading for more details about trail access - click on the headline to see the whole post.)
These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us but we hope that nature can provide a welcome respite in whichever form and wherever you may encounter it. We want to do everything we can to help people and our local community safely experience nature at this time, which is why we are keeping our reserve trails and car park open. Therefore, we are also waiving our entrance fee so people can enjoy our site at no cost.
We hope that visitors will continue to enjoy our amazing reserve and the incredible wildlife it has to offer while observing physical distancing measures.
If you are unable to get out into nature physically, then we will be here providing updates, news, photos, blogs and more, to help you keep connected with nature over the coming weeks. Remember you can follow us on @RSPBRainham on Twitter and Facebook and on our blog: https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/rainhammarshes/b/rainhammarshes-blog.
Our staff and volunteers will be continuing to work tirelessly to save nature on our reserves and through conservation projects and campaigns. More than ever, your support for nature is vital, and greatly appreciated.
You can find the RSPB’s latest response to coronavirus on our website here.
And the latest government information and advice on coronavirus can be found on the Department for Health and Social Care’s website.
Most importantly, keep safe and look out for one another.
Take care, The RSPB Rainham Marshes team.
Rainham Visitor Centre by Andrew Gouldstone