Roydon Common nr Kings Lynn – Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Address: Rising Lodge to Grimston road, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 1AT

Parking: Free – Approx 20 Spaces

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Entrance: Free

An absolute gem of a nature reserve that has multiple walking options and on we said almost instantly “we’ll have to come here again”. Terrain is reasonably flat, however a lot of the paths are sandy and therefore a bit uneven.

🌿 Key facts

• Size: about 195 hectares (480 acres).
• Protected as a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest.
• Managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
• Known for heathland, bogs, and valley mire wetlands.

It’s considered one of the best examples of a “lowland mixed valley mire” habitat in Britain, which makes it very important for conservation. The site is home to many hundreds of different species of insects, including 450 species of moths and 30 species of butterflies

On our visit we saw lots of deer enjoying the space and were largely unfazed by visitors walking through. There were also numerous birds of prey circling overhead hunting their prey, which for someone that grew up in the city never fails to impress me.

You can see as you walk through the reserve, and also in the photo below that large areas of the reserve are carpeted with heather. Not something I’ve ever seen in Norfolk before. Come August and early September when this is in flower, the reserve is a must see and visit.

Facilities:

In short there aren’t any. No toilets or refreshments, also as a word of caution there are no toilets on site either. However you are only 5 minutes or so away from Kings Lynn so you can soon pop there afterwards if you wish.

There are year round restrictions on dogs. Dogs are welcome but must be on a lead. Long leads are banned during summer months due to the presence of a number of species of ground nesting birds. There are also warning signs of adders for dog owners.