This magnificent and varied nature reserve covers over 500 ha at the heart of the Avalon Marshes.
Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve (NNR) is part of an area that’s steeped in history and is a superb place to watch wildlife, whether it’s an elusive bittern, an otter lurking in the reed beds, or the swirling flocks of starlings that come to roost in winter.
Rich in wildlife
Habitats include lush wildflower meadows; water filled rhynes; damp, secretive fens; shady, wet fern woods; and open water, fringed with rustling reed-beds. It’s this mix which makes the reserve so rich in wildlife.
Over 60 different species of birds nest at Shapwick, including Cetti’s warbler and great-crested grebes, while dragonflies and butterflies abound in the summer including the impressive white admiral.
Mammals also thrive at Shapwick, including water voles, lesser horseshoe bats and, of course, otters.
Like much of the Avalon Marshes Shapwick Heath is a landscape formed from peat. In the 1960s the Peat Industry removed huge quantities of peat by machine for horticultural use. This has since been transformed into the landscape of lakes, reed-beds, fens and woodland which we see today.