Snettisham is unique in a couple of ways. It is rare in Norfolk that it is a beach facing West. However the unique geological nature of Snettisham is what attracts hundreds of thousands of migratory and transitory birds during the winter and autumn periods. High tides can push huge numbers of waders closer to where people can observe them.
Snettisham pits were dug out during World War II in order to provide shingle that was used to build concrete runways as the American Bombers were too heavy to land on grass. The pits stretch for over 2.5 km and are split equally between the RSPB reserve and privately owned beach properties, including the Snettisham Beach Sailing Club.
Evidence of the operation is still visible today as the concrete roads made to transport the shingle are still used today by the residents to access their property. Whilst the roads are no longer used in the reserve, pieces of them line most of the length of the pits. One of the most distinctive landmarks left from the operation are the ruins of the jetty used to load the shingle on to boats so it could be transported across the country.
Public Accessedit
There is a 2 km (approx) path to the reserve from the car park.
Plaques in Rotary Hide
There is a circular walk around the reserve, with three hides. One, the Rotary Hide, was donated by the Rotary Clubs of East Anglia, and opened on 5 October 1997, by Bill Oddie.[1]
This whole area 57.627 hectares are common land. Shingle collection rights belong to the inhabitants of Snettisham.
Picturesedit
View of the pits from one of the bird hides
Birds swimming in the gravel pits
A picture of the pits showing the remains of the concrete roads laid during World War 2
snettisham, rspb, reserve, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Snettisham RSPB reserve news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message Snettisham RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds situated near Snettisham in the county of Norfolk England north of King s Lynn and close to Sandringham It faces The Wash a large estuary In autumn and winter the big tides of the Wash pushes up hundreds of thousands of wading birds onto the Norfolk coast The nature reserve s bird lagoons provide a safe habitat for them Snettisham RSPB reserveThe JettyTypeNature reserveLocationNorfolk EnglandCoordinates52 51 26 N 0 26 49 E 52 8573 N 0 4469 E 52 8573 0 4469Operated byRSPB Snettisham is unique in a couple of ways It is rare in Norfolk that it is a beach facing West However the unique geological nature of Snettisham is what attracts hundreds of thousands of migratory and transitory birds during the winter and autumn periods High tides can push huge numbers of waders closer to where people can observe them During the year the bird population and diversity of what can be seen here will vary greatly but species regularly seen here include little ringed plover oystercatcher golden plover knot bar tailed godwit sanderling curlew spotted redshank pink footed geese and peregrine falcon Snettisham pits were dug out during World War II in order to provide shingle that was used to build concrete runways as the American Bombers were too heavy to land on grass The pits stretch for over 2 5 km and are split equally between the RSPB reserve and privately owned beach properties including the Snettisham Beach Sailing Club Evidence of the operation is still visible today as the concrete roads made to transport the shingle are still used today by the residents to access their property Whilst the roads are no longer used in the reserve pieces of them line most of the length of the pits One of the most distinctive landmarks left from the operation are the ruins of the jetty used to load the shingle on to boats so it could be transported across the country Public Access editThere is a 2 km approx path to the reserve from the car park nbsp Plaques in Rotary Hide There is a circular walk around the reserve with three hides One the Rotary Hide was donated by the Rotary Clubs of East Anglia and opened on 5 October 1997 by Bill Oddie 1 This whole area 57 627 hectares are common land Shingle collection rights belong to the inhabitants of Snettisham Pictures edit nbsp View of the pits from one of the bird hides nbsp Birds swimming in the gravel pits nbsp A picture of the pits showing the remains of the concrete roads laid during World War 2References edit Plaques in hide Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Snettisham RSPB reserve amp oldid 1084546160, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
