Thameside Nature Discovery Park - EWT

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Thameside Nature Discovery Park - EWT Mucking is positioned right on the working River Thames and the new visitor centre affords fanstastic views over the mudflats and the Thames.

A stunning and innovative Essex Wildlife Trust discovery centre and Nature Park created on a former landfill site, with superb views over Mucking Flats SSSI and Thames Estuary. Essex Wildlife Trust is working to transform Mucking landfill site into a Living Landscape, this is the biggest project Essex Wildlife Trust has ever delivered. The site is 120 acres at the moment (and will be 845 acres) , it is a tremendous habitat for coastal and wetland wildlife, as well as very important grasslands, woodlands and hedgerows. The area is an avian hotspot and there are already internationally important numbers of Ringed Plover and Avocets and nationally important numbers of Grey Plover, Dunlin, Godwit and Redshank. The Nature Park is situated between East Tilbury and Stanford le Hope, just off A13. The Nature Park is important for many species including Barn Owls, Short Eared Owls, Water Voles (our fastest declinning species), Harvest Mouse, Skylark, Shrill Carder Bee, plus many more butterfly, moth and other invertebrate species. However, these are not the only beneficiaries, Cattle graze the site at certain times of the year and eventually people will be able to enjoy over 12 miles of new footpaths, bridleways and cycle ways. The visitor centre has an observation room/ tearoom and allows 360 degree views of the nature park and Thames from the fully accessible ( wheelchair & pushchair friendly) roof top viewing deck. A (disabled friendly) Bird hide over looking the sssi mudflats and a wonderful natural play area for children to enjoy.

Apologies for any inconvenience.
01/11/2026

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Please sign the petition to protect this wildlife haven in Thurrock 👇
31/10/2026

Please sign the petition to protect this wildlife haven in Thurrock 👇

A scary thought on this spooky Halloween afternoon...

A special wildlife site in Thurrock is under threat.

Current plans could see over 50% of the Arena Essex site lost to make way for a hyperscale Google data centre. The site is home to hundreds of species and one of the UK's rarest habitats.

Nature needs your voice.

Respond to the consultation, sign the petition and help protect this important place for wildlife.

Complete the e-action 👉 https://loom.ly/SEezC-o
Sign the petition 👉 https://loom.ly/P34OKVQ

Pencil in a thameside trail - last day Sunday 1st November! Pop into the centre....trail sheets available from welcome d...
31/10/2026

Pencil in a thameside trail - last day Sunday 1st November!
Pop into the centre....trail sheets available from welcome desk.

Common Reed Bunting📸 Denis TuckHow to identify:The reed bunting is a streaky brown bird. In summer, the males have black...
31/10/2026

Common Reed Bunting

📸 Denis Tuck

How to identify:

The reed bunting is a streaky brown bird. In summer, the males have black heads and black throats extending down into a bib, with a white collar and white 'moustache'. In winter the head is mostly brown, though the white collar and 'moustache' are still obvious. The throat becomes pale, though there are usually traces of the dark bib still visible.

Female buntings, including female yellowhammers and reed buntings, can be very difficult to tell apart. Female reed buntings have a pale throat and 'moustache', separated by a dark streak that reaches the base of the beak. They lack the yellowish hues of a female yellowhammer.

As the nights draw in please take note of our winter opening times at Thameside 🍁
30/10/2026

As the nights draw in please take note of our winter opening times at Thameside 🍁

Dunlin📸 Denis TuckHow to identifySandpipers can be a difficult group of birds to get to grips with. The dunlin is unmist...
30/10/2026

Dunlin

📸 Denis Tuck

How to identify
Sandpipers can be a difficult group of birds to get to grips with. The dunlin is unmistakeable in its summer plumage: adults are brick-red above, with a black belly patch. In its winter plumage, the dunlin is grey above and white underneath, looking very much like the sanderling. It is a little smaller, however, and has a longer, down-curved bill.

Start your wildlife pin journey!
29/10/2026

Start your wildlife pin journey!

Nice find not far from the centre building🍁The shaggy inkcap is an unmistakable fungus - its tall, white, shaggy cap pro...
27/10/2026

Nice find not far from the centre building🍁
The shaggy inkcap is an unmistakable fungus - its tall, white, shaggy cap providing this name and also others, such as 'lawyer's wig' and 'shaggy mane'. It is widespread and common on roadside verges, parkland, grassland and gardens, growing in small groups. It is edible when young. Fungi belong to their own kingdom and get their nutrients and energy from organic matter, rather than photosynthesis like plants. It is often just the fruiting bodies, or 'mushrooms', that are visible to us, arising from an unseen network of tiny filaments called 'hyphae'. These fruiting bodies produce spores for reproduction, although fungi can also reproduce asexually by fragmentation.

Drop in for a trail sheet this half-term. Whatever the weather 💨💧☀️💨💧☀️
26/10/2026

Drop in for a trail sheet this half-term. Whatever the weather 💨💧☀️💨💧☀️

Address

Mucking Wharf Road, Mucking
Stanford Le Hope
SS170RN

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+441375643342

Website

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