Ray Island, also known as the Ray, is a nature reserve west of
Mersea Island
Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word ''meresig'', meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is s ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. It is owned by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, who bought it in 1970. It was leased by the National Trust to the
Essex Wildlife Trust
The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people ...
managed the site. Following the cessation of the lease associated with the associated with the island the National Trust has resumed responsibility for its management.
Wildlife
The site is a sandy hill which rises out of an area of saltmarsh. It has rough grassland and a shingle foreshore. There are saltmarsh plants such as lax flowered sea-lavender,
sea rush Sea rush is a common name for several rushes in the genus ''Juncus'' and may refer to:
*''Juncus kraussii'', native to the Southern hemisphere
*''Juncus maritimus
''Juncus maritimus'', known as the sea rush, is a species of rush that grows on c ...
and
golden samphire
The golden samphire (''Limbarda crithmoides'') is a perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across western and southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Golden samphire has a tufted habit, and the plant may ...
, and breeding birds include
oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The e ...
s and
shelduck
The shelducks, most species of which are found in the genus ''Tadorna'' (except for the Radjah shelduck, which is now found in its own monotypic genus ''Radjah''), are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biologi ...
s.
Environmental designations
The site has been designated as
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 ...
(SSSI),
Marine Conservation Zone
A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to protect nationally important, rare or threatened habit ...
s (MCZ),
Ramsar Site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
(SAC) and a
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...
(SPA).
Literature
''Mehalah''
Ray Island was the setting for the novel ''Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes'' by
Sabine Baring-Gould
Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...
, who was the rector of East Mersea. Baring-Gould describes it thus in the first chapter:
:''A more desolate region can scarce be conceived, and yet it is not without beauty. In summer, the thrift mantles the marches with shot satin, passing through all gradations of tint from maiden's blush to lily white. Thereafter a purple glow steals over the waste, as the sea lavender bursts into flower, and simultaneously every creek and pool is royally fringed with sea aster. A little later the glasswort, that shot up green and transparent as emerald glass in the early spring, turns to every tinge of carmine.''
The Essex Serpent
The marshy landscape also formed part of the inspiration for ''
The Essex Serpent
''The Essex Serpent'' is a 2016 novel by British author Sarah Perry. The book is the second novel by Perry and was released on 27 May 2016 in the United Kingdom through Serpent's Tail, an imprint of Profile Books.
Set in the Victorian era, in th ...
'', by
Sarah Perry
Sarah Grace Perry (born 28 November 1979) is an English author. She has had three novels published, all by Serpent's Tail: ''After Me Comes the Flood'' (2014), ''The Essex Serpent'' (2016) and ''Melmoth'' (2018). Her work has been translated ...
.
Folklore
A bear is said to have escaped from a ship onto the island and killed a group of fisherman who had landed there.
There is also the tale is of a drunkard who chased his wife and daughter into the marshes, however he was drowned by the rising tide. It has been claimed his shouts can be heard along with the panting of the mother and the baby's crying.
It is also claimed there is the ghost of a Roman centurion and the sound of a horses hooves can be heard.
Access
General public access is by boat via the Ray Channel from Mersea. There is also an old pathway from The Strood that winds through the maze of salt marshes called the Bonner's Saltings for over a kilometre to reach the island including single-plank bridges without handrails. Footpath access for Trust members, from 1 March to 31 August. General public access using your own boat. It is important to check the state and times of the tide as the pathway floods. Camping is banned by the trust.