Exclusive: Natural England’s CEO Marian Spain on 70 years of National Nature Reserves

Remaining at 1 of the UK’s finest caravan parks gives you with a good chance to get out in the refreshing air and examine the attractive encompassing spot. A picturesque area to do this is at one of our Countrywide Mother nature Reserves (NNR) – spots of land that have been established apart solely for mother nature. 

They’re dotted all in excess of Britain and supply a fantastic foundation for finding nearer to wildlife and the pure earth. 

With 2022 symbolizing their 70th anniversary, we chatted to Marian Spain, Main Executive of Purely natural England, to find out a little bit a lot more about NNRs, the preferred locations to go to, the routines caravanners can adopt to aid nature, obtain out about the Piltdown Skull hoax and more…

1. Convey to us a bit about Nationwide Character Reserves and why they’re so critical. 

If you want to get pleasure from nature in Britain, an NNR is the greatest spot to do it – they are the ‘Premier League’ of Conservation. They’re throughout the Uk and are the quite most effective sites to see nature in quite a few different facets.  

Some of our rarest wildlife can only be located on our NNRs in fact, they are house to about a quarter of our indigenous species and are hotspots for character. They are also essential for their geology – the other facet of mother nature – and are often really lovely areas, offering spectacular views.

2. Why do you feel caravanners ought to head to an NNR this 12 months? What are the major added benefits?

If you want to see mother nature go to an NNR. You will not uncover every thing – wildlife is not assured, it’s not predictable – but you have acquired the ideal prospect of seeing some of our most beautiful and appealing wildlife and organic heritage at an NNR. 

I guess the other purpose for going is it is a milestone year for our reserves – they’re 70 several years old. They had been made through the 1949 Act that also gave us our nationwide parks and nationwide trails, which I think a large amount of caravanners will be familiar with. 

As it’s the 70th anniversary this year, there are a good deal of distinctive events happening on them way too, ranging from relatives-welcoming gatherings like rock pooling as a result of to guided walks, as very well as the prospect to volunteer on some of them. You can discover out about the occasions that will be using place right here.

They are all open up all the time. Anyone can take a look at and they are all free. 

3. What are your ideas for acquiring the most out of a stop by to an NNR?

My 1st idea would be to do a little bit of homework before you go – they’re all really distinctive. Some of them are tiny, other individuals extremely big. Some of them have visitor amenities, including parking and bird hides, while some of them have pretty small, with hardly a pull in off the road.

Some of them are coastal sand dunes, many others are inland meadows, some of them are significant open up nature sites and so on. So my major tip is to recognize what you can do there and what you are probably to see so you are ready to take pleasure in it. 

When you get there, you will find details onsite about the wildlife you’re likely to see, as very well as advised going for walks routes.

A little something else your readers could want to do is remind them selves of the Countryside Code, so they don’t inadvertently trigger injury. Holding your canine on a direct is usually incredibly vital at a nature reserve and you also need to be genuinely cautious to prevent lighting fires or obtaining barbecues.

You are going to also want to make guaranteed you depart gates as you come across them, as perfectly as imagining about in which you park – do not just pull into passing spots alternatively, make sure you use proper parking spaces and really don’t block farmers’ gates.

Some NNRs are extremely near to general public areas – one particular of them is in the center of London, Richmond Park. Nevertheless, a good deal of them are in additional remote parts, so just think about slowing down on rural roadways and supplying precedence to walkers, cyclists and horse riders. 

I’m guaranteed your readers do this in any case, as persons who tow caravans will be pretty conscious of their effects on other road consumers, but just remind you of what you should not do in these areas or in the countryside in basic.

Last of all, just go and appreciate them sit in them, soak up the mother nature and permit the birds appear to you.

4. What have been the most important changes to NNRs more than the very last 70 decades?

They have been at first spots of science and in the early days, a whole lot of them weren’t open up to the general public. There have been indications up expressing “National Mother nature Reserve, continue to keep out” since they ended up destinations of analyze and research. 

That is likely the biggest alter around the previous 10 to 15 yrs, they’ve all been entirely opened to the community.

Which is, in element, simply because of the larger knowledge of how crucial it is for individuals to access nature, but also for the reason that we have uncovered a lot much more about how you can accommodate obtain and nature. 

There will be some pieces of the reserves wherever you might locate a indication declaring, “keep out of this section of the reserve” – for instance, at this time of calendar year with birds nesting, particularly floor nesting birds – but a large amount of the time you can go to and delight in them without damaging nature. 

5. What do you believe the upcoming retains for NNRs? 

I feel we’ll continue to see what we have viewed about the previous 20 years, with a lot more changes happening to make NNRs additional welcoming. 

They’re not all owned by Pure England – they are staying progressively owned by wildlife charities, like the Nationwide Have confidence in and the Wildlife Belief, as perfectly as by private landowners, so some of the significant farming bodies and massive farms individual them. They, in specific, are investing far more in customer expert services. 

I think they’re likely to get more substantial as properly. We now have what we get in touch with ‘super’ nationwide mother nature reserves – the first of these was declared final year, and on the 19th Might, the Somerset Wetlands ‘super’ NNR was declared. They are much more substantial parts of land and they be part of plenty of landowners jointly. A chunk of the Somerset Wetlands ‘super’ NNR is owned by us, a chunk is owned by one of the wildlife trusts, some of it is owned by personal farmers. They’ll be bigger more robust and resilient, permitting far more people today to delight in them, as effectively as supplying more place for character. 

The third pattern is closer to cities and cities – we require nature close to exactly where we stay. They’re not just wildlife preserves anymore. They’re an active portion of the battle versus weather improve, with peatlands and wetlands able to soak up carbon. 

6. What’s a fact about an NNR that our readers will be astonished to listen to about?

I never know if you don’t forget the Piltdown skull hoax?

1 of the initial NNRs that was declared in 1952 was at Piltdown.

In the 1950s, there was a cranium found, and it was claimed to be the cranium of the to start with modern-day man to live in Britain. This was addressed as an archaeological artefact and about 20 several years later it was discredited as a fraud. So we experienced to “de-declare” the NNR for the reason that it quickly wasn’t the birthplace of person in England.

7. What are the rarest sights our visitors could expect to see at an NNR, and wherever need to they go to place them?

In Kingley Vale in Sussex, there are yew trees that are thought to be the oldest residing matters in Britain. 

Then, at Moccas Park, there is a beetle that only lives on 16 trees. If you go there, odds are you won’t see it because it pretty much life on 16 trees but when you are on the web site, you are going to know you’re around a thing unique.

A further is at Lyme Regis Character Reserve – when you go below, you’ll be strolling on the fossils that designed Mary Anning well known and established geology as a science in Britain.

8. What are the most preferred NNRs to pay a visit to and why are they so well-liked?

Richmond Park is the most frequented due to the fact of where it is, and I suspect a large amount of persons who go to really don’t know that it’s a national mother nature reserve. That’s wonderful – they’re going there for the reason that it’s a wonderful position in the middle of London, but there is a great deal of uncommon wildlife at Richmond Park that a whole lot of readers possibly never see.

Sherwood Forest is also a nationwide mother nature reserve for the reason that it is an historical woodland, it’s got a single of the most well-known oak trees in the state on it, and as the woodland is so old, it hosts extremely rare wildlife that depend on the trees. 

9. Which NNRs really should our audience head to if they want to truly bask in mother nature this year?

You really do not have to go to an NNR and go on a vigorous character stroll with a microscope and a established of binoculars.

One particular of my most effective times out in the previous calendar year was at Ainsdale Sand Dunes, which is on the outskirts of Liverpool. 

I made use of to go there when I was at college in Liverpool and I went back again a number of months back with the NNR workforce and we basically put in an hour sitting down in a deck chair just soaking the spot up, so if you like the coastline that could be value a visit.

The Lincolnshire Coastline has bought a few nationwide mother nature reserves that extra or a lot less be part of up along the coastline – if you are in that aspect of the earth and want a peaceful crack, go to the NNRs. If you go in the winter season, they also have the most significant seal populations around Britain.

As a ton of them are woodlands, they are definitely good for forest bathing much too – that plan of staying amongst trees and sitting down and enjoyable.

There are also some NNRs exactly where you truly can get away from it all. Stiperstones NNR is a fantastic area simply because you’re quite large up there – you genuinely have that sense that you are away from anything.

You are up there on the ridge, and it is a really open up and peaceful spot with loads of heathland around you. From there, I do not believe you can see a home.

10. Are there any patterns caravanners can adopt that could support the purely natural planet?

Going to a campsite is a sociable issue wherever you’re conversing to the men and women around you, so I think it presents you with an exceptional likelihood to be an ambassador for the Countryside Code.

The Countryside Code also claims respect and be polite to other individuals. The fantastic matter about character is that you often satisfy like-minded people today, so just share your activities – say howdy and have a chat.

I feel another habit to adopt is just to appreciate the natural globe – give it time to rest in, since it is very good for you. Continue to keep the practice up when you get dwelling way too you can pay a visit to mother nature reserves nearby. There are heaps of neighborhood wildlife web-sites that could do with volunteering or fundraising aid, so maybe if you are influenced by visiting a character reserve, you can assistance out with your local wildlife website on your return.

Direct image: East Dartmoor Woods and Heath NNR – credit: Simon Melville / Natural England

---

If you’ve savored reading through this short article, why not get the most up-to-date information, opinions and functions shipped direct to your door or inbox each month. Consider gain of our good Functional Caravan journal SUBSCRIBERS’ Offer you and Signal UP TO OUR Newsletter for frequent weekly updates on all matters caravan associated