The Solent Way footpath
from Keyhaven to Lymington is along the coast through a Nature
Reserve, it is an area of outstanding beauty and
classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are
magnificent views of the Isle of Wight.
The Lymington to Keyhaven Nature Reserve is
made up of lagoons, reeds beds, salt marsh and mud flats and supports
a number of vulnerable plants and rare species and provides rich
feeding grounds for a wide variety of birds, particularly during
the spring and autumn migrations. The lagoons also support nationally
important breeding populations of little terns.
The common waders seen all year round are
the, Curlew Dunlin Little
Egret Oystercatcher Redshank Ringed
Plover and with regular
migrants such as the Ruff Little
Stint Curlew
Sandpiper Greenshank and
the Green
Sandpiper at the end of the summer.
Wildfowl in good numbers during winter include, Canada
Goose Brent
Goose Mallard Pintail Shelduck Shoveler, Red-Breasted
Merganser Teal and Wigeon with
divers and grebes as regular visitors.
Other regular birds include the Avocet Kingfisher Lapwing Grey
Plover Golden
Plover and a large breeding colony of Black-Headed
Gulls
For hundreds of years until the mid 19th century
a major salt industry thrived along this coastline. As you walk
along you’ll notice a series of lagoons called Salterns,
these were used to collect the seawater, then once evaporation
had taken place the brine solution was drawn off by wind pumps
into metal basins and heated until only the salt remained. |
