Since I was small I have visited Kilnsea and Spurn Point in East Yorkshire, it’s our best kept secret, and I am so lucky to have it just 40 minutes away from my home. My family have always loved it here, my Gran and Grandad brought my Mum and Auntie here as children, then my Mum and Gran always brought me. It’s a beautiful, and quite honestly, magical nature reserve situated on the very tip of the Holderness coast. The reserve is a very special place for migrating birds, and people come from all over the world to watch the birds here. The wildflowers that grow attract insects and butterflies, its just a haven for wildlife. For many years you could drive down to the very tip, one side you would have the sea and the other side the Humber estuary. However in 2013 the tidal surge wiped the road away and now at high tide the sea can wash over and meet the Estuary. So with no road there, its a long walk down (got to make sure you check the high tide times too)
We tend to stay at the start of the Nature reserve at Kilnsea, because we don’t really have the time to walk the 3 miles down to spurn point, not because you can no longer drive down, but because we’ve normally been too distracted that before we know it 2 hours have passed and were only half an hour away from the car! Its either I’m obsessing over taking photos of butterflies, spent far too long watching the seals in the water or I’ve had my head down looking for fossils. So we were really excited to take a trip on the Spurn Safari!
The Spurn Safari is a 2 and a half hour trip, to the very end of spurn, you climb aboard the Unimog (if you’re like and have no idea what that is- it’s a really big all terrain truck, and all the guys swooned over it) it takes you down over the beach and onto the remaining road further down all the way to the light house. We got to see large groups of oyster catchers on the way down, and I can only imagine how alive with birds it must be in the Spring and Autumn as you go down! We got a tour of the beautiful light house and was able to spend our own time there exploring it- the views were fantastic even though it was a little hazy! Our tour guide and driver was Andy whose knowledge of the area was amazing, we’ve been coming here for so long, so it was great to learn something new about something you love so much!
After we spent time at the light house we were taken further down to Spurn, where the life boats are based. This area is fascinating due to it’s military history, all along the holderness coast there are remains of bunkers and military buildings, many have been lost to sea, but there are still a few there, and Kilnsea and Spurn are not short of their share. It was really interesting to be shown the remains of the buildings and be told what they were used for. The area was really over grown for the wildlife, so I loved hearing about the animals that are in the area, and I’m going to have to go back in summer as it seems like a wild flower haven!
Kilnsea really is like no where else, theres so much diversity to this area with the beach one side and the river on the other, it’s such an incredible place. Plus the Yorkshire wildlife trust built a beautiful visitors centre a few years ago, which not only has great views but also has an even better cafe, making it a great excuse for a little trip. Plus its accessible for wheel chair users too!
Would you visit a place like this? or do you prefer you coastal visit with arcade machines?
Much Love
Natasha x
