Dingle Marshes is a wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. The reserve is located between Dunwich and

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, around ...

, approximately south-west of Southwold. The marshes make up part of the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve along with reserves at Walberswick and

Hen Reedbeds Hen Reedbeds is a 55 hectare nature reserve near the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. The reserve is located in the Blyth valley between Reydon and Blythburgh, approximately west of Southwold. The marshes make up part of the Suf ...

.Suffolk Coast NNR
''Natural England''. Retrieved 30 October 2012.Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve
, ''Direct enquiries''. Retrieved 30 October 2012. They are owned jointly by the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and are managed by these two organisations and Natural England.Dingle Marshes
''Suffolk Wildlife Trust''. Retrieved 30 October 2012. The site is in the Dunwich Heaths and Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, the Minsmere-Walberswick Ramsar internationally important wetland site, the Minsmere to Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Special Area of Conservation, and the Minsmere-Walberswick Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. It is also within the Minsmere-Walberswick Heaths and 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 ...

and is a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

site. It is an internationally important site for the

starlet sea anemone The starlet sea anemone (''Nematostella vectensis'') is a species of small sea anemone in the Family (biology), family Edwardsiidae native to the east coast of the United States, with introduced populations along the coast of southeast England an ...

as well as a key site for

bitterns Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" ...

and marsh harriers within the UK. It was purchased in 1999 at a cost of £1 million, aided by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £559,000.Lottery helps rare species
''BBC news website'', 10 February 1999. Retrieved 2012-10-31.

Landscape

The marshes form part of the open coastal fen landscape type within Suffolk which is predominantly open with few trees.Open coastal fens
''Suffolk county council''. Retrieved 30 October 2012. They were drained for use as cattle grazing at some point before 1587 but have reverted to fen land after mid-20th century reflooding.

Habitat

Dingle marsh and Dunwich Forest - geograph

The marshes include a mixture of coastal and freshwater wetland habitats, including brackish pools.About Dingle Marshes
''RSPB''. Retrieved 30 October 2012. These provide breeding habitats for birds such as

, marsh harriers and bearded tits as well as mammals such as European otters and water vole and over-wintering locations for species such as pied avocets, white-fronted geese,

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. ...

s and redshanks. The site is an internationally important habitat of the

, the rarest sea anemone in Britain. The reserve is bordered by heathland and forest on the landward side and includes a vegetated shingle bank on the seaward side. Little terns often nest along the bank.

Flooding

Coastal flooding has affected the marshes in recent years, including in 2003, 2006 and 2007.Sea breaches RSPB reserves in Suffolk
, ''Bird Guide'', 2 November 2006. Retrieved 2012-10-30.Surge hits wildlife havens
''BBC news website'', 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2012-10-31. The shingle bank was breached in 2006 and 2007 leading to concerns that vulnerable freshwater habitats could be lost, including the breeding grounds of species such as bitterns.Fears for Dingle marshes
, ''Eastern Daily Press'', 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2012-10-30. Emergency flood defence works were carried out by the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

following the 2006 breach, and these were extended in 2012 to provide additional flood defences for the reserve.Flood protection work at Minsmere and Dingle Marshes
''BBC news website'', 15 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-30.

Facilities

The reserve is accessed from the south at Dunwich beach where a car park and other facilities are maintained by East Suffolk council. A circular walk is waymarked around the marshes. The

maintains a hide overlooking the marsh.

References

{{Suffolk Wildlife Trust Suffolk Wildlife Trust Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England Dunwich