Cornwall has more protected nature sites per square mile than almost any English county. The Cornwall Wildlife Trust manages fifty-plus nature reserves across over five and a half thousand acres. The RSPB runs three Cornwall reserves. The National Trust holds extensive coastal lands with serious wildlife value. Cornwall National Landscape (the rebadged Cornwall AONB) covers around twenty-seven per cent of the county across twelve designated sections. Add in the Marine Conservation Zones, Heritage Coasts, SSSIs and SACs, and Cornwall is properly stitched together as a protected wildlife county. This nature reserves Cornwall guide is the map.
I’ll cover the major Cornwall Wildlife Trust reserves by region, the RSPB sites, the National Trust nature areas, the AONB/National Landscape designations, the Marine Conservation Zones, and the lesser-known reserves the public rarely visits. Our wider Cornwall wildlife and nature guide is the parent piece.
The Protected Landscape of Cornwall
The conservation tiers worth understanding:
Cornwall National Landscape (formerly Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty — renamed 2023). Covers around twenty-seven per cent of the county in twelve designated sections, mostly coastal. Originally designated 1959-1996 to protect the most outstanding landscape character.
Heritage Coasts. Sub-designations within or alongside National Landscape — Hartland to Bude, Pentire to Widemouth, Trevose Head to Pentire, Bodmin Moor.
National Trust holdings. Significant coastal land including most of the most photographed Cornish headlands — Bedruthan, Pentire, Mutton Cove area at Godrevy, Land’s End, Lizard Point, Trevose Head.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Statutory designations for specific biological or geological importance. Cornwall has dozens.
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). European-derived designations now in UK law. The Lizard SAC and the Marazion Marsh SPA are the main Cornish examples.
Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). The Manacles, Padstow Bay and Surrounds, Mounts Bay, Whitsand and Looe Bay, Land’s End, The Canyons (offshore).
Cornwall Wildlife Trust reserves. Charity-managed nature reserves — over fifty across the county.
RSPB reserves. Hayle Estuary, Marazion Marsh, and the Goldsithney site.
The combination produces one of the most thoroughly protected coastal landscapes in England.
The Major Cornwall Wildlife Trust Reserves
Caerthillian to Kynance (Lizard)
The CWT signature Lizard reserve. Coastal heath, serpentine rock flora, the chough population, breeding seabirds in summer. The walk from Caerthillian Cove to Kynance Cove passes through several of the Lizard’s most botanically remarkable habitats. Around four hundred plant species recorded; many of them endemic to the Lizard. Open access, free.
Hellman Tor (south-east Cornwall)
One of the largest CWT reserves. Lowland heath with stonechats, Dartford warblers, nightjars in summer. Significant invertebrate populations including silver-studded blue butterfly (in season). Network of paths.
Goss Moor National Nature Reserve
The largest lowland heath complex in Cornwall, managed jointly by Natural England and Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Three thousand acres of heath, bog, woodland and grassland. Major butterfly populations (silver-studded blue, marsh fritillary). Birds — Dartford warbler, stonechat, nightjar. Restricted access in some areas due to MOD use and breeding bird sensitivity; the public footpath network gives substantial coverage.
Devichoys Wood (near Penryn)
Ancient deciduous woodland with woodland bird populations — woodpeckers, treecreepers, marsh tits — plus bluebells in spring, fungi in autumn. A small but properly characterful Cornish woodland.
Penlee Battery (south coast, near Mevagissey)
Coastal grassland with bird migration importance. Spring and autumn migrant traps. Wartime gun emplacement adds historical interest.
Penhale Sands (north coast, Perranporth)
Coastal dune system with sand-loving flora and the cirl bunting population that’s helped reverse the species’ Cornish decline.
Maer Lake (Bude)
Wintering wildfowl reserve. Hide overlooking the lake. Mallard, teal, wigeon, occasional shoveler and pintail. Easy access from Bude.
Looe Island
Twenty-two-acre marine nature reserve on the island a mile offshore from Looe. Grey seals, breeding seabirds, Shetland sheep. Boat access via Looe Sea Safari in summer. Our Looe and Polperro guide covers visiting.
Helman Tor (near Bodmin)
Granite tor with surrounding heath. Striking landscape. Birds including stonechat and Dartford warbler. Significant prehistoric remains (Neolithic). Easy walking access.
Other Notable CWT Reserves
Tresayes Quarry (south coast), Sylvia’s Meadow (south coast), Ventongimps Moor (north coast), Bostraze Bog (west), Marsland Valley (north coast, on the Devon border), Rosenannon Downs (north Cornwall), Loggans Moor (west), Tamar-Tavy Estuary, Armstrong Wood, Cabilla and Redrice Woods (Bodmin edge), Red Moor (Bodmin), Breney Common (south of Bodmin), The Towans (Hayle area), Baker’s Pit.
The Cornwall Wildlife Trust full reserve directory is at cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves. Most are free and open access.
Our Cornwall birdwatching guide covers the hides and species lists, and wildflower walks in Cornwall the botanical highlights of the same sites.
RSPB Cornwall
RSPB Hayle Estuary
The Cornwall flagship RSPB reserve. The UK’s most south-westerly estuary. Up to eighteen thousand wintering and migrant birds use the estuary across the autumn-winter season. Five distinct viewing areas including the Eric Grace Memorial Hide overlooking the main flats and the Ryan’s Field hide on the upper reaches. Free access. Year-round but peak October to March.
Target species: teal, wigeon, little egret (common now), curlew, redshank, dunlin, sanderling, ringed plover. Spring brings migrant waders — black-tailed godwit, common sandpiper, ruff. Rarities turn up most autumns — ring-billed gull, glaucous gull, occasionally a North American vagrant.
RSPB Marazion Marsh
Cornwall’s largest reedbed. Sixty-three hectares adjacent to Mount’s Bay. SSSI and SPA designated. Over two hundred and fifty bird species recorded historically.
The bittern is the headline winter species — usually one or two birds present from November to February, sometimes in view from the main hide. Cetti’s warbler, reed warbler, sedge warbler, reed bunting, water rail, snipe, stonechat. The reedbed-edge meadows attract Aquatic Warbler in autumn (a rare stop-over migrant).
Free access via the path from Marazion seafront. Parking at the village. Combine with a visit to St Michael’s Mount across the bay.
National Trust Nature Sites
The National Trust holds significant Cornish coastal lands with serious wildlife value. The major sites worth knowing:
Godrevy and Mutton Cove (north coast). The seal haul-out and the chough territory. National Trust car park; clifftop paths.
Bedruthan Steps (north coast). Cliff-top wildflower carpets, breeding seabirds offshore, chough sightings. NT car park and café.
Lizard Point (Lizard). The most southerly point in mainland Britain. Chough breeding territory, seabird cliffs, Lizard flora. NT car park.
Trelissick (south coast). Garden estate overlooking Carrick Roads, with woodland trails and significant bluebell areas in spring.
Cotehele (south-east). Tudor manor estate with extensive ancient woodland.
Lanhydrock (mid-Cornwall). Estate with cycle trails, ancient woodland, deer park-like grasslands.
Holywell Bay (north coast). Coastal dunes with sand-loving flora.
Trebah and Glendurgan Gardens (south coast). Sub-tropical valley gardens with significant introduced flora plus native woodland birds.
Trevose Head (north coast). NT cliff land with breeding seabirds and migrant chough sightings.
Pentire Point (north coast). Chough breeding territory, thrift carpets in May-June.
National Trust family membership at around £135 a year covers all of the above and pays back for any family visiting more than two sites in a year.
Cornwall National Landscape (Formerly AONB)
The protected landscape designation covers around twenty-seven per cent of Cornwall in twelve sections. Renamed from “AONB” to “National Landscape” in 2023. The twelve sections:
Hartland/Morwenstow to Kilkhampton (north coast border with Devon); Pentire Point to Widemouth (north coast central); Trevose Head (north coast); West Penwith (Land’s End area); Camel Estuary (around Padstow); St Agnes (north coast); Fowey Valley (south coast); Rame Peninsula (south-east); Bodmin Moor (interior); South Coast Western (Marazion to Falmouth); South Coast Eastern (around Looe); Gribbin Head-Polperro (south coast).
The National Landscape designation gives planning protection — major developments are restricted within designated areas. It doesn’t give automatic public access (much of the landscape is private farmland), but it does protect the character of the views that Cornwall sells to visitors.
Cornwall National Landscape runs guided Discovery Day events through the season — walks led by rangers across the twelve sections. cornwall-landscape.org.
Marine Conservation Zones
Cornwall has six Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) protecting designated underwater habitats:
The Manacles MCZ (Lizard, designated 2013). Three-and-a-half square kilometres off the east Lizard coast. Maerl beds, pink sea fan colonies, cup coral, jewel anemones, stalked jellyfish, spiny lobster, sea-fan anemone. One of the most species-rich UK marine sites.
Padstow Bay and Surrounds MCZ (designated 2013). Ninety square kilometres from Park Head to Com Head, including Rumps and Pentire. Intertidal through circalittoral down to fifty metres. Diverse rocky reef and sandy seabed habitats.
Mounts Bay MCZ. The bay around St Michael’s Mount and Penzance. Subtidal seagrass beds, important for fish breeding and bird foraging.
Whitsand and Looe Bay MCZ. South-east Cornwall, including the seabed off Whitsand Bay.
Land’s End MCZ. Offshore from the West Penwith peninsula.
The Canyons MCZ (offshore). Deep-water site off the Cornish shelf edge.
MCZ designation restricts certain activities (commercial fishing methods, anchoring on sensitive habitats) but doesn’t restrict recreational diving, snorkelling or wildlife watching. Operators within MCZs follow conservation best practice.
Seal watching in Cornwall and diving and snorkelling in Cornwall cover what these zones protect and how to visit responsibly.
Cornish SSSIs and SACs
The statutory designations for specific scientific importance:
The Lizard SAC. Special Area of Conservation covering the Lizard’s unique serpentine flora and heath habitats. Among the most biologically significant land sites in the UK.
Marazion Marsh SPA. Special Protection Area for wintering bittern and breeding reed-bed birds.
Penhale Sands SAC. Coastal dune habitat with rare flora.
Hayle Estuary SSSI. Designated for waterbird populations.
Goss Moor SSSI. Lowland heath complex.
Bodmin Moor SSSI. Upland heath and moorland.
Numerous smaller SSSIs across the county covering specific cliffs, woodlands, mires and other priority habitats.
The “Hidden Thirty” — Lesser-Known CWT Reserves
Beyond the headline sites, the CWT manages many smaller reserves the public rarely visits. Worth knowing:
Tresayes Quarry. Former china clay quarry recolonised by orchids and butterflies. Heath and reed habitats.
Sylvia’s Meadow. Wildflower meadow in south Cornwall.
Ventongimps Moor. North Cornwall heathland.
Bostraze Bog. West Cornwall raised bog with bog asphodel, sundew, butterwort.
Baker’s Pit. Former clay pit reverting to nature.
Loggans Moor. Wetland near Hayle.
Armstrong Wood. Small woodland reserve.
Rosenannon Downs. North-coast heathland.
Marsland Valley. Cornwall-Devon border reserve, deep wooded valley.
Churchtown Farm. Mid-Cornwall hay meadow site.
These smaller sites usually have free open access (parking can be tight). Worth seeking out if you want quieter nature visits than the headline reserves.
The Reserve-by-Season Plan
The right reserve depends on the season:
January-February: RSPB Hayle Estuary for wintering wildfowl; Marazion Marsh for bittern; Mutton Cove for seal haul-out.
March-April: Bluebells at Lerryn, Devichoys Wood, Cabilla and Redrice Woods. Spring migrants arriving at Hayle.
May: Pink thrift at Bedruthan, Pentire, Lundy Bay. Caerthillian-Kynance for Lizard flora and chough. Cliff-nesting seabirds at Lye Rock, Bedruthan, Pentire.
June: Wildflower peaks. Marsh fritillary on Lizard heath. Silver-studded blue at Upton Towans (Gwithian Towans). Caerthillian for chough breeding.
July-August: Heather at peak on the Lizard, Bodmin Moor, West Penwith. Goss Moor butterflies. Cot Valley wildflowers.
September-October: Migration peak. Hayle Estuary for wader passage. Pendeen Watch for sea-watching (technically not a reserve but a public viewpoint). Autumn rarity arrivals.
November-December: Mutton Cove peak seal counts. Marazion bittern. Hayle wildfowl. Manacles MCZ diving (in calm conditions).
Many reserves connect via the coast path — see our Cornwall walking and trails guide.
How to Support Cornwall’s Reserves
Multiple ways:
Visit and donate. Donation boxes at most reserves. RSPB membership at around £55 a year. Cornwall Wildlife Trust membership at around £45 a year. National Trust family at around £135 a year.
Volunteer. All three organisations need volunteers — practical conservation work, education, surveys, fundraising.
Citizen science. Submit sightings to Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s ORKS database. Use iNaturalist for casual identifications. Take photographs of marked seals for CSGRT.
Bequest schemes. The Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s land acquisition programme uses bequests to secure new reserves. The reserves you visit today exist because of donors decades ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many nature reserves are there in Cornwall? Cornwall Wildlife Trust manages over fifty reserves. RSPB has three reserves. National Trust holds extensive coastal land with nature reserve status. Plus dozens of SSSIs.
What is the largest nature reserve in Cornwall? Goss Moor National Nature Reserve at around three thousand acres.
Are Cornwall Wildlife Trust reserves free to visit? Yes — open access, free. Donations welcome at the visitor centres.
What is the difference between AONB and National Landscape? The UK government renamed AONBs to “National Landscapes” in 2023. Same protected status; new branding.
Where can I see bitterns in Cornwall? RSPB Marazion Marsh, November to February. Usually one or two birds in residence each winter.
What is a Marine Conservation Zone? A statutory marine protected area in UK waters. Restricts damaging activities; allows recreational use. Cornwall has six MCZs.
Where are the best places for birdwatching in Cornwall? RSPB Hayle Estuary; RSPB Marazion Marsh; Pendeen Watch for sea-watching; Lizard for choughs.
Can you visit Looe Island? Yes — Cornwall Wildlife Trust marine nature reserve a mile offshore from Looe. Boat trips via Looe Sea Safari in summer.
What is the Manacles MCZ? A 3.5 square kilometre marine conservation zone off the east Lizard coast. Rich in maerl, pink sea fans, jewel anemones. Notable diving destination.
Is Bodmin Moor a National Park? No — Cornwall has no National Park. Bodmin Moor is designated as part of Cornwall National Landscape (formerly AONB) and as SSSI.
Cornwall’s protected landscape is stitched together by reserves, AONB sections, MCZs and statutory designations. Cornwall Wildlife Trust is the conservation hub; the RSPB runs the major wetland reserves; the National Trust holds much of the dramatic coast. Join one or all three. The reserves you visit will be here for the next generation because of the members of this one.
