Who runs UK nature reserves: organisations A–Z

Use the organisation’s visitor information for admission, parking and access, then choose a birdwatching guide for your day. This list includes the operators of every reserve with a full guide.

By Does Your Duck Quack · Updated 25 October 2026

Reserve operators and their guides

The area column describes the nations represented by the linked guides. A charity, council or water company may manage other places elsewhere. Guide totals count the places available here; they are not a total of the organisation’s properties.

Organisations, areas and bird reserve guides
Organisation	Area represented	Guides	Official visitor information
Anglian Water	England	1	Official visitor information
Bardsey Island Trust	Wales	1	Official visitor information
Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Bristol Water	England	1	Official visitor information
Council	Northern Ireland, Scotland	2	Official visitor information
Cumbria Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
DAERA	Northern Ireland	1	Official visitor information
East Lothian Council	Scotland	2	Official visitor information
Elmley Nature Reserve	England	1	Official visitor information
Essex Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust	Scotland	1	Official visitor information
Field Studies Council	England	1	Official visitor information
Flamborough Bird Observatory	England	1	Official visitor information
Gigrin Farm	Wales	1	Official visitor information
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information
Hampshire County Council	England	2	Official visitor information
Huntingdonshire District Council	England	1	Official visitor information
Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Kenfig Nature Trust	Wales	1	Official visitor information
Kent Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Lancashire Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information
Landmark Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information
London Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information
Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust	Wales	1	Official visitor information
Mull Magic Wildlife Walks	Scotland	1	Official visitor information
National Trust	England, Northern Ireland, Wales	7	Official visitor information
National Trust for Scotland	Scotland	3	Official visitor information
Natural England	England	3	Official visitor information
Natural Resources Wales	Wales	4	Official visitor information
NatureScot	Scotland	7	Official visitor information
Norfolk Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information
North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory	Scotland	1	Official visitor information
Northumberland Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Portland Bird Observatory	England	1	Official visitor information
RSPB	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	106	Official visitor information
Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Scottish Seabird Centre	Scotland	1	Official visitor information
Scottish Wildlife Trust	Scotland	3	Official visitor information
Severn Trent Water	England	1	Official visitor information
Suffolk Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information
Teignbridge District Council and Devon Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales	Wales	4	Official visitor information
Wirral Council	England	1	Official visitor information
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust	England	1	Official visitor information
WWT	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	10	Official visitor information
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust	England	2	Official visitor information

Understand the wider reserve networks

Explore the Wildlife Trusts movement to compare independent local charities. Read about National Nature Reserves to understand how a designation differs from day-to-day management.

Sources and your next visit

Operator links above lead to the official visitor sources used by the reserve guides. Those guides retain their own review dates, access notes and detailed sources.