Cley Marshes is a nature reserve on the North Sea coast of England just outside the village of Cley next the Sea, Norfolk. A reserve since 1926, it is the oldest of the reserves belonging to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT), which is itself the oldest county Wildlife Trust in the United Kingdom. Cley Marshes protects an area of reed beds, freshwater marsh, pools and wet meadows and is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA), and Ramsar Site due to the large numbers of birds it attracts.
The reserve is important for some scarce breeding species, such as pied avocets on the islands, and western marsh harriers, Eurasian bitterns and bearded reedlings in the reeds, and is also a major migration stopoff and wintering site. There are also several nationally or locally scarce invertebrates and plants specialised for this coastal habitat. It has five bird hides and an environmentally friendly visitor centre and further expansion is planned through the acquisition of neighbouring land and improvements to visitor facilities.
The site has a long history of human occupation, from prehistoric farming to its use as a prisoner of war camp in the Second World War. The reserve attracts large numbers of visitors, contributing significantly to the economy of Cley village. Despite centuries of embankment to reclaim land and protect the village, the marshes have been flooded many times, and the southward march of the coastal shingle bank and encroachment by the sea make it inevitable that the reserve will eventually be lost. New wetlands are being created further inland to compensate for the loss of coastal habitats.
History
Prehistory to 1926 Norfolk has a long history of human occupation. Both modern humans and Neanderthals were present in the area before the last glaciation between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago, and humans returned as the ice retreated northwards. The archaeological record is poor until about 20,000 years ago, partly because of the prevailing conditions, but also because the coastline was much further north than at present. As the ice retreated during the Mesolithic, the sea level rose, filling what is now the North Sea. This brought the Norfolk coastline much closer to its present line, so that many ancient sites are now under the sea. The oldest signs of habitation on the marshes are prehistoric Clactonian flint blades possibly from 400,000 years ago, but few other prehistoric remains have been recorded here.Robertson et al. (2005) pp. 9–10.
Fragments of a Roman vase and jug have been found on the beach. A 1797 map showed what was described as the ruins of "Cley Chapel", although it is more likely that they belonged to a barn.Norfolk Heritage Explorer; NHER Number: 6163 A 1588 map showed "Black Joy Forte", which may have been intended as a defence against the Spanish Armada. There are a number of post-medieval earthworks, presumably sea defences, and pits which may have been associated with salt-making.Robertson et al. (2005) pp. 20–22.
Until the mid-1600s, much of the area now known as Cley Marshes was part of a vast tidal marsh and was covered by seawater twice a day. The shoreline itself was hundreds of metres north of its present location. The raised area in the north-west corner, called the "Eye", has been farmed since the earliest human habitation. It was 28 ha (70 acres) in extent in 1651, but is now much reduced by coastal erosion.Brooks (2011) p. 21.Bishop (1983) pp. 130–133. Access to the Eye was by an ancient causeway, passable at low tide. John Heydon started the process of embanking the marshes to reclaim the land in 1522, and his banks were extended and improved by Dutchman Jan van Hasedunch from 1630. Simon Britiff, Lord of the local Manor of Cley, completed the scheme by building the bank on the east side of the Cley channel. Only the east and west banks have survived; the north bank was breached by the sea in 1897,Labrum (1993) pp. 113–114. then rebuilt with a concrete facing, but abandoned after another bad storm in 1921.
Cley and nearby Blakeney had been prosperous and important ports in the Middle Ages, but land reclamation schemes, especially those by Henry Calthorpe in 1640 just to the west of Cley, led to the silting up of the shipping channel and relocation of the wharf. Further enclosure in the mid-1820s aggravated the problem, and also allowed the shingle ridge at the beach to block the former tidal channel to the Salthouse marshes to the east of Cley. In an attempt to halt the decline, Thomas Telford was consulted in 1822, but his recommendations for reducing the silting were not implemented, and by 1840 almost all of Cley's trade had been lost to Blakeney and other Norfolk ports.Pevsner & Wilson (2002) p. 435. The population stagnated, and the value of all property decreased sharply.Hume, Joseph. "Port of Cley and Blakeney" in appendix to In the mid-nineteenth century, the Lord of the manor constructed the present road to the beach in exchange for closing the ancient right of way across the marshes.
In the decades preceding World War I, this stretch of coast became famous for its wildfowling; locals were looking for food, but some "Gentleman Gunners" hunted to collect rare birds. One of the best known of the latter was E. C. Arnold, who collected for more than fifty years, and gave his name to the marsh at the north-east corner of the present reserve.Bishop (1983) pp. 9–13.
Nature reserve era
Cley Marshes reserve was created in 1926 when Norfolk birdwatcher Dr Sydney Long bought the land which now makes up the reserve for the sum of £5,100, to be held "in perpetuity as a bird breeding sanctuary". Long then established the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
The reserve was extended in 1962 through the lease of the adjacent Arnold's Marsh from the National Trust; this had long been the primary feeding area for waders, but much of the best habitat had been lost to the advancing shingle ridge. New pools and hides were created on the reserve from 1964, and the sale of permits for access to the hides became a useful source of income for the NWT.Bishop (1983) pp. 40–41. Further pools and hides were established during the 1970s, and a visitor centre was built in 1981 on the site of the current building.
Over the long history of the reserve, it has had only three wardens, all from the same family. Robert Bishop was warden from 1926 to 1937, and was followed by his grandson, Billy, from 1937 to 1978. Billy's son, Bernard, who was appointed in 1978, is still managing the reserve.
The reserve now covers , and is of international importance for its breeding and wintering birds. It was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1954, and in 1986 it was subsumed into the North Norfolk Coast SSSI. The larger area is now additionally protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings, and is part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Retrieved 8 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011. The reserve has been referred to as "a Mecca for birdwatchers".
Second World War coastal fortifications
During the Second World War, Royal Artillery military fortifications were established at the beach end of the reserve, including two 6-inch (15.24 cm) guns, five buildings, two pillboxes, a minefield, and concrete anti-tank blocks. A spigot mortar emplacement and an Allan Williams Turret machine gun emplacement were sited closer to the village. One of the pillboxes and remains of the beach gun emplacements were still surviving as of 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
The military camp held 160 men and was later used to hold prisoners of war. Italian, but not German, prisoners were allowed to attend dances at the anti-aircraft camp at nearby Stiffkey. Near the end of the war, the camp was used to house East European refugees, and it was finally pulled down in 1948. Many of the wartime buildings were destroyed by the Royal Engineers in 1955, but the generator house was taken over by the coastguard service as an observation post. It was acquired by the NWT in 1983, and the upper part was used as a look-out, while the larger lower section became a beach café.Brooks (2011) p. 26. The building was overwhelmed by shingle in a storm in 2008 and subsequently demolished. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
Access and facilities
The reserve is to the north of the A149 coast road just east of the village of Cley next the Sea, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Holt. The visitor centre and car park are to the south of the road, opposite the reserve. The reserve can be reached by public transport using the bus service that stops outside the visitor centre. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
The reserve is viewable from the visitor centre, footpaths next to the A149 and down the East Bank, the beach and the road running from the beach back to the main road. It can be accessed by footpaths at three points, each leading to one or more bird hides. Retrieved 7 June 2012. Beach Road and the beach itself form part of the Peddars Way long distance footpath. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
The present visitor centre, which opened in June 2007, is on a small hill overlooking the reserve. It contains a café and shop, and is open daily. The reserve and hides are open at all times, with free access to NWT members, although non-members must buy a permit.
The visitor centre is built on environmentally friendly principles. Its roof is covered with living sedum plants, rainwater is collected for re-use, and the building's energy profile is reduced using solar water heating, wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps. It has won a number of awards including the Emirates Glass LEAF architectural award for the sustainability category. Retrieved 7 June 2012. The success of the centre has led to plans to develop it further, offering more services and educational facilities and enhancing its profitability for the Trust.Norfolk Wildlife Trust (2011b) p. 14. The centre and four of the five bird hides are accessible to wheelchair users.
In 2012 the NWT launched a public appeal to raise £1 million to purchase 58 hectares (143 acres) of private land immediately to the east of the existing reserve, and adjoining the existing 66 ha (163 acre) Trust reserve at Salthouse Marshes. This purchase would create a unified 8 km (5 mi) stretch of NWT-owned coastal land and expand the Cley reserve by one-third.NWT (2012) Cley Marshes land purchase appeal leaflet. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
Fauna and flora
Birds
The key breeding species are reed bed specialists such as the marsh harrier, Eurasian bittern and bearded reedling, and the island-nesting avocet. Other birds nesting in the wetland include northern lapwing, common redshank and sedge, reed and Cetti's warblers. Eurasian spoonbills, ruffs and black-tailed godwits are present for much of the year, and a pair of little egrets bred for the first time in 2010–2012.
Spring migrants including little gull, black tern, Temminck's stint and garganey may pass through on their way to breed elsewhere, and terns frequently visit from the colonies on Blakeney Point. In the autumn, birds arrive from the north. Some, such as Eurasian whimbrels, curlew sandpipers and little stints, just pausing for a few days to refuel before continuing south, others staying for the winter. Offshore, great and Arctic skuas, northern gannets and black-legged kittiwakes may pass close by in favourable winds. Large numbers of ducks winter on the reserve, including many Eurasian wigeons, Eurasian teals, mallards and gadwalls, goldeneyes and northern pintails. Red-throated divers are usually on the sea,Harrup &Redman (2010) pp. 235–237. and brent geese feed on sea lettuce and other green algae. Barn owls and sometimes hen harriers quarter the marshes in winter, and snow bunting flocks can be found on the beach.