RSPB Dungeness Nature Reserve

Nature & Wildlife

Active and Outdoors

Dungeness, the RSPB's oldest living nature reserve, occupies over 1,000 hectares of the Dungeness peninsula: the largest shingle formation of its kind in Europe. The reserve is part of the Dungeness National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

In winter, you can see hundreds of water birds on the lakes. In spring and autumn, migrating birds pass through on their way to their breeding grounds or winter homes. In spring and summer, there's plenty of other wildlife to spot too: from dazzling dragonflies and fluttering butterflies to croaking frogs and colourful wildflowers.

The great variety of wildlife at Dungeness and its strangely beautiful landscape make a visit worthwhile at any time of year. Whether you follow our self-guided trails, join in an organised guided walk or event, or simply relax and enjoy the views from our comfortable Visitor Centre, we're sure you'll have a wonderful time!

We have a total of four trails to explore with some harder than others across different terrain. There are multiple hides, lookouts and viewing points to offer fantastic views across different habitats. When you visit check in at our welcome hut outside the visitor centre and our team will be able to show you our map and answer questions you might have. Don’t forget to ask them what sightings we have had too! We keep a daily and monthly record and always happy to share what you might see.

To get the most out of your visit we highly recommend bringing a pair of binoculars, however, if you forget or don’t have any, don’t panic! You can hire some from our welcome hut for as little as £3 per pair. We also have pond dipping kit available for hire to discover what lurks in one of our ponds here on the reserve.