Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park is a 25 hectare site managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Situated just 6 miles from Colchester, it is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is internationally important for a wide variety of water birds. Abberton Reservoir itself is the largest body of freshwater in Essex and is owned by Essex and Suffolk Water. It was constructed in the 1930s to address local water needs in one of the driest areas in the UK.

Abberton Reservoir is one of Europe’s top wetland sites. It is of international importance as a safe haven for wild ducks, swans and other water birds, whether resident, passing through on migration or over-wintering. It lies close to east-coast migration routes and, with its surrounding envelope of pasture and tree plantations, is a welcome sight to tired birds. Up to 40,000 ducks, swans and geese visit each year. The top seven species are Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Coot and Black-headed Gull and they cannot fail to impress. Added to this there can be hundreds of Shoveler, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Pintail and Great Crested Grebe.

In the spring there is the unusual sight of Cormorants nesting in trees, one of the few places in Britain where they do this. They began in 1981 and have continued ever since. Late summer brings the spectacle of large numbers of swans and ducks moulting – replacing their worn-out feathers – on the reservoir. Safety is vital while they do so because they replace all their flight feathers at once, which means that for a while they are unable to fly. In dry winters water levels fall temporarily to expose large expanses of mud. This attracts large numbers of passage waders such as ruff and spotted redshank from the coast. The surrounding farmland, too, is of value to birds. In winter thousands of golden plover may be seen there, along with small numbers of migratory geese and swans. For the keen birdwatcher the reservoir boasts an impressive list of rarities visiting briefly in winter or passing through on migration.

Visitors can enjoy walks on our nature reserve, whilst taking in stunning panoramic views across the reservoir from the Bay , Island and Gwen hides. It’s possible to walk around the entire site but be warned the total distance of the circular route is around 20k !

Facilities

The site has a visitor centre complete with a cafe , toilets and shop , where accessible toilets and baby changing facilities are available. There is a large carpark which is free to use during opening times as below with disabled parking. Other facilities include a play area , three hides and a picnic area . When the visitor centre is closed there is also plenty of off road parking areas around the site ( note: the visitor centre parking is locked out of opening hours ) which is the option we chose due to the time of our visit.

Opening hours , the discovery centre is open 7 days a week . Summer hours run from the 15th February to the 3rd November with the centre and carpark closing at 5pm . Winter hours run from the 4th November till the 15th February with the centre and carpark closing at 4pm

Address

Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park , Church Rd, , Layer-de-la-Haye , Colchester , Essex , CO2 0EU