Brading Marsh
Brading Marsh is a partly drained wetland in the east of the Isle of Wight, Hampshire's great south island. The marshes extend to the east of the tiny town of Brading, and through then runs the River Yar to the sea.
In former days, the Yar was broad and navigable as far up as Brading, allowing the town to prosper as a sea port, with the river estuary forming 'Brading Harbour', or 'Brading Haven'. In time though, during the Middle Ages, the river silted up and navigation was choked off, so that it ceased to be a port in the sixteenth century. A final attempt to hold the sea back was made by the Jacobean engineer Sir Hugh Myddleton, but ultimately the scheme failed and navigation was restricted to the rivermouth in Bembridge Harbour, while the lands behind this harbour up to Brading became marshland.
The land was reclaimed from the sea for agricultural use at the end of the 19th century. Today, grazing, haymaking and cutting rough vegetation encourage flowers and wetland birds.
The marsh is part of the Brading Marshes to St. Helen's Ledges Site of Special Scientific Interest,[1] which covers 1,207 acres.
RSPB Reserve
The marsh today is a nature reserve for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds acquired in 2001: their only reserve on the Isle of Wight. It is on the east coast of the island, behind Bembridge Harbour, and is a mix of lagoons and ditches, reed beds and meadows, with a fringe of ancient woodland. This marsh is the site of a wetland restoration project by the RSPB.
In spring and summer, lapwings, grey herons, tufted ducks and shelducks can be seen. Marsh harriers and peregrine falcons can also be seen. During autumn and winter migrating wading birds pass through, joining ducks, geese and wading birds feeding in the pools. The reserve is also home to many insects, plants and other animals.
The reserve is open all year round and free to visit.
Outside links
- Brading Marshes Reserve: RSPB
References
- ↑ SSSI designation
