Where is keyhaven salt marsh

Baby changing facilities:. No baby changing facilities. Dogs must be on lead. Access info:. No direct access onto the marsh, the site can be viewed from the sea wall, which runs around the Hampshire County Council's Lymington and Pennington Marshes reserve.

Please keep off the marshes to avoid disturbance to the sea birds. Parking info:. Walking information:. Grazing animals:. Reserve manager:. More obvious residents of the lagoons are birds which use them throughout the year.

Species including little egret, teal and little tern feed in the lagoons. Waders such as curlew, sandpiper, dunlin and little stint stop off on their long migratory journeys. Archaeological finds show that a sea salt industry has operated in the Solent for at least years. The industry flourished and by medieval times was firmly established at Lymington. Salt was obtained by impounding sea water in shallow lagoons known as salterns, and allowing evaporation during the summer months to remove the water.

This activity was undertaken on land that had been reclaimed from the sea through the construction of a series of sea walls. The first reference to a medieval salt industry in the Lymington area comes from the Domesday Book of Salt remained the principle economic asset of the area throughout the middles ages.

By the 17th century records show a flourishing economy in the area. The industry reached its peak early in the 18th century when saltpans were in use at Lymington. The smoke and steam from the boiling houses must have given the marshes the appearance of an industrial landscape.

The 19th century saw the decline of the industry. New rail links to the salt mines of Cheshire meant it was cheaper to dig salt from the ground and transport it around the country than extract it from sea water. The final Lymington saltern closed in These docks were used for the importation of coal for the boiling houses and export of salt on barges. Contact number: Contact email: Robert. Chapman hiwwt.

See Reserve's Flickr. Location map. Map Key. Join Today Love this nature reserve? Help us protect the wildlife and countryside you love We rely on your support to fund this site and others across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Help make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight wilder! Keyhaven is a small coastal village in the New Forest. This walk goes along a section of the Solent Way and takes in Keyhaven's marshes.

Along the route there are views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and the Needles and opportunities to watch the ever-changing bird life of Keyhaven Marshes. The path then cuts inland to follow an ancient highway behind the reserve before returning to Keyhaven.

Distance: The route is 4 miles long. The walk consists of gravel footpaths and quiet country lanes and starts at Keyhaven Green bus stop.

The route can been downloaded below PDF. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. View Map. Skip To Main Content.