Dingle Marshes | |
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Type | Nature reserve |
Location | Dunwich, Suffolk |
OS grid | TM479708 |
Area | 93 hectares (230 acres) |
Managed by | Suffolk Wildlife Trust |
Dingle Marshes is a 93-hectare (230-acre) wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. The reserve is located between Dunwich and Walberswick, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Southwold. The marshes make up part of the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve along with reserves at Walberswick and Hen Reedbeds.[1][2] They are owned jointly by the RSPB and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and are managed by these two organisations and Natural England.[2][3] The site is in the Dunwich Heaths and Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I,[4] the Minsmere-Walberswick Ramsar internationally important wetland site,[5] the Minsmere to Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Special Area of Conservation,[6][7] and the Minsmere-Walberswick Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.[8][9]
It is also within the Minsmere-Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest and is a Natura 2000 site.[3] It is an internationally important site for the starlet sea anemone as well as a key site for bitterns and marsh harriers within the UK.[1] It was purchased in 1999 at a cost of £1 million, aided by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £559,000.[10]