2024 Calendar now on Sale

We are pleased to announce that our amazing 2024 calendar is now on sale in the café. A bargain at only £7.50, don’t delay get your copy before they all go.

Reserve to re open on Saturday 4th November

We are please to announce we are re opening at 10.00 on Sat 4th Nov. Please wear suitable footwear as the paths and especially the boardwalks are very slippery. There is heavy rain forecasted for the coming weekend so if water levels rise too much we may have to close again at short notice.

Reserve CLOSED Friday 3rd November

Due to the recent bad weather the Reserve will be closed on Thursday 2nd November and Friday 3rd November.

We hope to open again on Saturday 4th November, however, please check social media for updates before travelling.

Winter Opening Times – Sunday 1st October

With effect from Sunday 1st October we will be operating our Winter opening times.

The Reserve will now close at 16.00 and Herons Rest café will close at 15.00, last orders for hot drinks at 14.45. There is no change to the opening times they remain at 10.00 everyday.

Herons Rest Café Re Opens

We are pleased to announce that our recent refurbishment has now been completed and we are back open again from Tuesday 2nd May at 10.00.

We look forward to seeing you all again and thank you for your patience whilst we were closed.

Temporary Closure of Herons Rest Café

The Herons Rest Café and Visitor Centre will be closed for much needed refurbishment and redecorating from:

Sunday 23^rd April to Monday 1^st May

(both dates are inclusive)

During this time:

• The toilets will remain open and accessible when the Reserve is open.
• Admissions to the Reserve will be via the gate to the side of Herons Rest.
• We would encourage our visitors to bring their own drinks and snacks, but to please only consume these at the seating area in front of Herons Rest.

We apologise for any inconvenience this will cause, and look forward to welcoming you into the refreshed facilities very soon.

New Admission Prices effective from 1st April 2023

Please be advised that from 1st April our admission prices have increased as detailed below.

Nest Cam Now Live

We are pleased to announce that our nest cam feed is now live, you can check on the progress of the nest, eggs, hatching etc here.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-6d-Q5ZP9Cco1mj3JJY_rz3oNun-MzRy

Walnut Tree Planting

Light refreshments were served back in the Visitors Centre to allow everyone to warm up and dry out, as it was rather wet during the planting ceremony.

Generous Donation

Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve, represented by Viv Roberts, Celia Strudley and Steve Kenward and Jake Everitt from HDC, were delighted to welcome Chris and John Hamilton to the Reserve recently.

Chris and John, some of the original volunteers at the Reserve had for many years been involved with the Horsham Natural History Society.

When the Society closed, its remaining funds were distributed amongst a number of nature related organisations in the area, and the Friends were honoured and delighted to one of the chosen groups.

It was great to catch up with Chris and John, and to hear a number of stories about the volunteer work in the early days of the Reserve. Our thanks go to them, and their fellow members of the Horsham Natural History Society for their generosity.

2023 Calendar now on sale – SOLD OUT

We are pleased to say our 2023 calendar is now on sale in the cafe and will cost only £5.

Congratulations to those lucky people whose photos were chosen to be in the calendar.

A first for the Reserve

We are very pleased to announce that we have had our very first Egyptian Goslings on the Reserve. These were first spotted on 14th June 2022. We now have 4 very cute goslings and some rightly so proud parents. Pop on down to the Reserve and see for yourselves.

Many thanks to one of our regulars Dave Cox for the wonderful pictures.

Blue Tit Live Web Cam

We are pleased to say the live webcam from one of our blue tit nest boxes is now up and running. This can be seen from one of the monitors in the Visitors Centre of by clicking the link below.

As at this morning 29th April 2022, 6 of the 7 eggs have now hatched, sometimes it is difficult to see them as the feathers lining the nest may have moved over them. The parents are in and out a lot during the day bringing lots of food for the hungry chicks.

Warnham Nature Reserve 2022 – Blue Tit – YouTube

Sadly this year our hatched chicks were taken from the nest, so we have switched of the live feed, it will be back up and running next season.

Shelley Wildlife Garden Upkeep

Many thanks to some of our wonderful volunteers for their hard work weeding the garden this morning, it really is looking rather lovely at the moment.

If you find yourself with time on your hands and want to help us keep the garden looking lovely we meet every 2 weeks on a Friday at 10.00, no experience needed as help will be provided with what is a weed and what needs doing.

Discovery Hub and Attree Hide now open

We are pleased to announce that the Reserve is now fully reopen again including the Visitor Centre and our wonderful new Discovery Hub and Attree. We look forward to seeing you all again inside and in our new additions.

Admission Charges to resume on Saturday 15th May 2021

Please be aware that from Saturday 15th May, admission charges will resume at the Reserve and will be payable at the Visitor Centre Café hatch. We kindly ask that all payments for both the Reserve and the café are made by card not cash. .

As regular visitors will know, over the past year the Reserve has been free to enter.  Prior to this entry fees did apply. These fees and permit monies go towards the upkeep and safe running of the Reserve.

Following discussion between the Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve and Horsham District Council we had intended to introduce new entry fees in April 2020, however as events overtook and we were not able to facilitate this.

With the hides due to re-open from Monday 17^th May, we are now in a position where we intend to re-introduce charging.

We will be introducing charges based on the principles detailed below;

–          Per adult pricing is fairer than household pricing and better reflects the benefit received by visitors.

–          Children will not be charged an entrance fee to encourage their engagement with the natural world. The transition age has been extended from 16 to 18.

–          Pricing should reflect the value of the reserve and provide sufficient income to enable it to be developed further to the benefit of the community.

We do appreciate these changes affect in particular the way the annual household permit scheme works, but we do hope you will agree that this still represents excellent value for money and we would like to thank you for your continued support of Warnham Local Nature Reserve.

Annual permits will be available to purchase from 9.00am on Saturday 15^th and Sunday 16^th May from the Visitor Centre café hatch. 

Exciting News Monday 12th April

We have gone live today with our Blue Tit nest box camera, there is a lot of activity going on today, probably as it is such a cold day.

The link will be there 24/7 and gives us an insight into the lives of the blue tit pair.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-6d-Q5ZP9CdHcrBCUgMW2xYY6oXAsp3X&fbclid=IwAR3WldBYUGCJEyiEkx1SwNmDIawyi3_GmkCCRejgZzBzU5U5GCvbAqep4X8

Coop Charity Support

The Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve (FoWLNR) is now one of three causes in our local community which Co-op Members can select to support  between now and 23 October 2021. The more members who select us and shop with Co-op, the more funds that FoWLNR will receive via them.

We encourage you to become Co-op Members and select FoWLNR as your cause. You can join online at coop.co.uk/membership or by downloading the Co-op app to your mobile device. Simply sign-in to your online Co-op account, choose a cause and select Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve.

When you buy selected Co-op products and services, 2p for every £1 spent goes into your membership account. Co-op will split the same between like-minded organisations and local causes. If you do not select a cause to support, Co-op will share the funds you raise equally between the 3 causes in your community.

The Heron’s Rest café reopens

GREAT NEWS, the Herons Rest has reopened on 29th March 2021, and will be open every day from 10.00 until 16.00. Last orders for hot drinks is 15.45

This will be a “door service” only. There will be a limited amount of outdoor seating available. The visitors centre, however, will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Please wear a face covering (where appropriate) at the door when ordering your beverages. We have the NHS test and trace process in place and we ask that our patrons either use the QR code provided or complete the paper form provided.

Our full range of drinks and snacks will be available, but we ask if you can please pay by cards rather than cash.

Reserve Current Opening Hours

The reserve will be open daily from 10.00am – 17.00.

For the safety of all our visitors, the following measures have been put in place.

• Access to the reserve is via a temporary path leading from the main car park.
• For your own safety, please DO NOT try to access the fenced construction area surrounding the new Discovery Hub building.
• To ensure adequate social distancing, a one-way system around the reserve is now in place. Please follow the signs and remain 2 meters from other visitors at all times.
• Please do not block the paths or set up equipment which can affect other people passing safely.
• The toilets are open, please follow the on-site signage.
• Car parking space will be limited, so please walk to the reserve if you are able to.

We would ask all our visitors to help us keep the reserve open by following these safety measures. Public health remains paramount and we do reserve the right to limit our visitor numbers to maintain adequate social distancing.

Rookwood Development

The Friends continue to oppose the Rookwood proposal. Please read more.