Burham Marsh nature reserve is an 11 hectare tidal

Reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

on the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

5 miles northwest of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

. It is just east of

Snodland Snodland is a town in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It lies on the River Medway, between Rochester, Kent, Rochester and Maidstone, and from central London. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 10,211. History ...

but being on the east bank of the river it is accessed via

Burham Burham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,251, decreasing to 1,195 at the 2011 Census. The village is near the Medway towns. The histor ...

. It is part the Holborough to Wouldham Marshes

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

Access

Cars may be parked at Burham Court Church at TQ 717621. A public footpath runs along the river embankment (the

sea wall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

) from which there are good views of most of the reserve and adjacent meadows. The path is mostly level but soft in wet weather.

Fauna and flora

Breeding species include reed and sedge warbler and water rail. Wintering species include bearded reedling, snipe, redshank and bittern. During the migration periods significant numbers of swallow and sand martin are seen. The River Medway at this point attracts a variety of birds including kingfisher, cormorant and various species of duck including teal, shelduck and wigeon. The low lying grassland areas provide grazing and roosting areas for large numbers of geese and ducks, including greylag and wigeon. Herons can often be seen fishing in the dykes which drain this area. Botanical interest includes the rare marsh sow-thistle (''

Sonchus palustris ''Sonchus palustris'', commonly known as marsh sowthistle, is a plant native to temperate regions of the Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and Xinjiang in western China. It has also become naturalized in a few locations in the Canadian Province of O ...

'') and marsh mallow (''

Althaea officinalis ''Althaea officinalis'', the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient ...

'').

References

{{Kent Wildlife Trust Kent Wildlife Trust Nature reserves in Kent Tonbridge and Malling