A Coast for All …. to explore the natural world

Head to Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour and you could be rewarded with the rare sight of a red squirrel. 

You’ll definitely be rewarded with dramatic views to the Purbeck Hills and thanks to the dividing water, grey squirrels are kept at bay, meaning the endangered reds are kept safe and can munch as many pinecones as they can manage!  

Brownsea features thriving natural habitats, including woodland, heathland and a lagoon, havens for wildlife, such as the red squirrel and a huge variety of birds, including the Sandwich tern. New for 2025 is The Fine Foundation Lookout, a stunning wildlife observatory giving amazing views over the lagoon offering close up views of the wildlife. 

Still in Dorset, you’ll also find the only managed colony of free-flying mute swans in the world at Abbotsbury Swannery. This unique natural wildlife habitat spreads over some 25 acres, during the nesting and hatching period (end May to end June), it is possible to be standing next to hatching eggs and if you’re very lucky, you may even witness a cygnet being born right before your eyes. Visitors to the Swannery can help hand feed some of the 600 swans. 

RSPB Arne is not only a brilliant Dorset bird watching spot, it’s also one of the few remaining places where all six of the UK’s native reptiles can be found. Situated on Poole Harbour and within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, landscapes don’t get much more breathtaking than Arne.  

Waymarked walking trails help you explore Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve where more than 2,000 species of wildlife have been seen. Durlston is one of the UK's best places to butterfly watch, while the grassland is home to more than 500 kinds of wildflower and in the spring and summer the cliffs bustle with seabirds including Guillemots and Razorbills. Durlston’s dark skies make it an ideal place to see the solar system, star clusters, galaxies and meteor showers, it even has its own observatory. 

Chesil Beach and Fleet Lagoon are a magnet for wildlife and have national and international protections, Chesil Beach, near Weymouth, is 18 miles long and is the largest tombolo in the UK. The Fleet Lagoon is also the largest tidal lagoon in the UK and one of the most important Marine Protected Areas in the country.  

The Durham Heritage Coast offers top bird-watching spots, its seas boast whales and dolphins but its ancient woodlands also feature amazing plant life 

One of Britain’s rarest and smallest sea birds – the Little Tern chooses to travel all the way from West Africa every year to breed, nest and rear its young on the sand dunes of Crimdon Dene beach on the Durham Heritage Coast.   

During the May to September breeding season wardens patrol the beach to protect these tiny sea birds and help keep visitors up to date with the Little Terns progress.  Perched high on the clifftops of Horden, overlooking Limekiln Gill Beach you’ll find the Little Tern Sculpture. From here you can enjoy spectacular views out across the mighty North Sea and along the coast. 

The Durham Argus butterfly is a rare subspecies of the Northern Brown Argus and can only be found on the Magnesian limestone grasslands of the Durham Heritage Coast.  The caterpillars of this butterfly feed exclusively on rock rose, found in isolated patches on south-facing grassy slopes. Come in early June to mid-August for best sightings. 

Cast an eye out to the North Sea along the Durham Heritage Coast and you might spot dolphins, porpoise, or minke whales. Common and Grey Seals also appear throughout the year and Harbour Porpoise are more commonly sighted during the summer. 

New to bird-watching? Take a trip to RSPB Saltholme, its family-friendly wetlands have a helpful visitor's centre and hides allowing up close views of water rail, avocet and terns, plus a café and play area. 

Hawthorn Dene is the second largest Dene in Durham with unspoilt semi-natural broadleaved woodland and species rich Magnesian limestone meadows. One of the few areas of relatively undisturbed woodland in East Durham, nearly 200 different plants, trees and animals have been recorded. Ash, sycamore and oak trees abound, you might also see Roe deer along with foxes and badgers, as well as woodpeckers, nuthatches, jays, tree creepers and blue tits. 

Thousands of years old, Castle Eden Dene National Nature Reservespans 500 acres and is beautiful for woodland walks and home to an extraordinary variety of birds, more than 450 species of plants, and some of our favourite mammals, like roe deer and fox. 

If you’re a keen bird-watcher, visit Blackhall Rocks and Cross Gill Nature Reserve, a hidden gem on the Durham Heritage Coast and a must-visit spot, especially for birdwatchers.  Its cliffs and coast feature natural reef-limestone from 250 million years ago, the perfect home for breeding skylarks. Transformed from its bleak industrial past, Blackhall Beach offers a stunning  stretch of clean and quiet coast. Explore the rocky beach and you’ll find the largest cliff caves in Durham’s magnesium limestone coastline. 

Just a short hop from the capital and you can be listening to birdlife and spotting nature on Kent’s Thanet coast.  

The Thanet Coast Project hosts scores of events with Seashore Safaris running throughout the year, join one in Broadstairs on 8 June, World Ocean Day, a Chalk Flora and Bumblebees walk on 22 June at Foreness Point or a Summer Beach Clean, 27 June. 

Hire a Coastal Explorer pack for just £5 and get the kids to learn explorer skills such as how to make a sundial or use a compass, delving into rockpools and identifying crabs, starfish and all manner of small sealife. 

While Thanet might be known for its beaches, it has a surprising acreage of green spaces. Above Minnis Bay’s sandy beach is a huge grass verge, ideal for watching passing ships but also popular with walkers and cyclists, it’s part of the 32-mile Viking Coastal Trail, an impressive circular route. 

You’ll also find lovely green spaces for kite-flying and more at Palm Bay or Northdown Park, Margate, or Victoria Gardens or Pierrmont Park, Broadstairs. 

With the longest continuous stretch of chalk cliffs in Britain, Thanet boasts some of the best chalk caves in the country.  Its reefs and mudflats offer ideal feeding grounds for wintering birds like Turnstones and Golden Plovers while the Monkton Nature Reserve set in an abandoned chalk quarry boasts numerous habitats including chalk grassland, woodland and aquatic areas.  Discover orchids, butterflies and hundreds of insects, mammals and birds.