Halling Reserve

Halling Marshes lie in the valley of the River Medway several miles upstream from Rochester. As the river meanders through the valley, it is flanked by small but important marshes and wooded areas.

Our 40-acre reserve consists of grazing marshes, including the reclaimed Halling Salt Marsh, which lies flanked by both old and new seawalls. In winter, the marshes flood extensively providing important habitat for a range of species.

With its reed and sedge lined ditches, stands of bramble and blackthorn, mature woodland and hedgerows, the site supports a wide variety of birds including a number of estuary species that take advantage of the adjacent tidal river, salting and mudflats.

Interesting and important plant species thrive on these cattle grazed marshes, with the Marsh Mallow amongst the most notable.

 

Halling enters HLS

With Halling Marshes now entered into our Higher Level Stewardship agreement with Natural England, we are now set to embark on a 10-year program of habitat improvement works.

The first part of this important work is now signed off. With the financial backing and support of the Valley of Vision project work will commence after the breeding season in the Autumn. The work will include re-profiling of existing ditches, the creation of new scrapes and the installation of new sluices in order that the water levels can be better controlled. In addition to these capital works and as part of the HLS agreement we will be installing bat and bird boxes and embarking on a program of maintenance of the coastal salt marsh and ongoing maintenance of grassland for target species.

 

 

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