Current access restrictions at our visitor centres 

Currently only the visitor centres at NWT Cley and Salthouse Marshes, NWT Holme Dunes, and NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes are open to visitors. All visitor centres have limited indoor capacity and offer a reduced, takeaway café menu. Each centre has installed signage throughout to help visitors to navigate the new procedures and comply with the social distancing guidelines.  For example you may notice separate entrances and exits to our visitor centres, and we are asking that visitors wait outside the building until it is their turn to enter, and please use the touch free hand sanitiser provided.  

There are a number of special measures in place on some of our nature reserves to ensure the safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers. We are not currently offering guided walks, although we hope these will recommence in the autumn, but visitors are welcome to explore the reserves using the designated pathways.   

 

Parking at NWT Holme Dunes 

The sheer volume of people on the coast has resulted in an uncharacteristically busy season for our coastal nature reserves. At Holme Dunes the NWT car park is proving extremely popular and at times reaches capacity.  In order to keep traffic manageable and safe for everyone, we currently operate a one car in/one car out policy once the car park is full.  

We are trying to manage the high visitor numbers as effectively as possible and are continuing to assess our ways of working at Holme. We are therefore reviewing staffing levels and social distancing/car parking spaces to help manage pressure on the site and in turn, your experience when visiting.   

We cannot currently enable a pre-bookable approach or members-only car parking given the logistical challenges of the infrastructure and vehicle access to the site. We strive for all our nature reserves to be accessible. Although we are aware that the majority of our users at Holme are members, we endeavour to keep it as inclusive as possible, making it available to some of those who may be visiting a nature reserve for the very first time. Nevertheless, we are keen to improve access for members and this is now being reviewed. 

 

The closure and re-opening of hides 

The health and safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors is paramount. Following on from the phased trial reopening of some hides at Hickling Broad we are now looking to introduce a phased reopening of some hides at other locations including at Cley Marshes and Holme Dunes. Please contact the visitor centres for further details.

Similarly to car parks, we are unable to introduce a pre-bookable or members-only approach to the hides. As with all our facilities, we strive to ensure that everyone has equal access to nature, and that may include beginner wildlife watchers, learners, or first-time visitors.  

We are grateful for your patience and understanding as we establish new ways of using the hides during this time.