Crossness Nature Reserve

A pond in Crossness Nature Reserve

Crossness Nature Reserve is a 63-acre local nature reserve by Crossness in the north of Kent. It is part of the Erith Marshes 'Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation'.

Location

• Location map: 51°30’4"N, -0°8’53"E

The reserve is adjacent to Crossness Sewage Treatment Works: the works form the reserve's western boundary. It was created under a planning condition in 1994 and is owned and managed by Thames Water. At the northern edge of the reserve is a waste management facility owned and operated by Cory.

Nature

Crossness is part of the original Thames floodplain called Erith Marshes. It is one of the few remaining areas of grazing marsh in the metropolitan conurbation, and it has the largest reedbeds in the area. It also has ponds and ditches, and areas of scrub and rough grassland. It is a major site for water voles, and 130 species of birds have been recorded, together with some rare invertebrates, including five species of water beetles and one of the UK's rarest wild bumblebee species, the Shrill Carder bee. Scarce plants include Borrer's saltmarsh grass and frog rush, a species that was previously thought to be extinct in Kent.

There are footpaths through the eastern part of the site, accessed from Norman Road and Eastern Way, but the western part is closed to the public.

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