Brands Bay: Poole Harbour

Much of the Purbeck shore line of Poole Harbour is sadly not openly accessible to the public but in the south eastern corner there is National Trust land that gives access to a part of it known as Brands Bay. At low tide this gives good views across the mud flats of the harbour and is a good spot for waders and wildfowl in general however, it seems that every time I go there the tide is in so my species list is not that good (yet).

You can access Brands Bay from anywhere along the Studland Road near the Sandbanks Ferry. It lies to the west of the road of course and you can park along the roadside (although it is pretty busy in summer) and there are various paths across the heath to the shoreline. There are no footpaths as such but it is open access land and there are well worn paths you can follow although it can be rough going in places and becomes quite wet in winter.

On a clear day the views across the harbour are lovely but I chose to take photographs on a grey day which have not done it justice but I will go back in the summer, get a better species list and some brighter photos.

Find out more about Brands Bay here:
www.natureofdorset.co.uk/sites/brands-bay

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