Essex Wildlife Trust Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park - Colchester

Tomos W.

We love Abberton, everyone is so very friendly, the coffee shop is fabulous lovely ladies, great hot chocolate or Tea, cold drinks cake or a sandwich ice cream for little ones, and a lovely ambience. Great for disabled children or Adults as easy access my son used to love the star gazing evenings, Halloween scar night.
Wonderful to watch the birds or just meet friends for coffee or lunch. We are so lucky to have it.
Lovely indoor area or outside on the wrap-around balcony safe for children.
If you are new to bird watching always someone to guide you or if you are experienced would be lovely to share your experiences if you wish,
Great shop with good quality gifts.
Fabulous play area for the children.
A lovely walk around the hides such a great area.
Parking is ample and flat for wheelchairs.
Very calm, relaxing area.

Christopher J. M.

Stopped off while cycling in the area. The visitor centre had a shop with a large selection of goods to browse. The cafe was very welcome with a selection of bites to choose from along with a selection of coffees & tea. It was a warm sunny day and sitting on the veranda was delightful looking across the reservoir while having a cup of tea and a cheese & ham toasted sandwich.

Matt E.

Great visitor centre and cafe with lovely views. Nice walks which are really well maintained and with a lot of hard work put into bio diversity.
We are lucky to have such places.

David

An absolute Gem 💎. The site is suitable for all ages and laid out with pram/wheelchair friendly paths and hides. I had no idea Abberton Reservoir was such a lovely place to visit, it is glorious on a nice day. The large body of water is protected on all sides by farmland, making it ideal for wildlife so we had no trouble spotting dozens of species. The Essex Wildlife Trust site sits on a peninsula of land in the middle, offering amazing views across the whole reservoir. They have built three large hides right on the waters edge, so the views are perfect. What's more, there was none of the monastic silence and tutting that you might find at an RSPB site, and nobody was dressed in camo fatigues.

Plus you get a full EWT visitor centre with all the usual facilities; free onsite parking, free entree, children's playground, maps and activities, a decent cafe and shop.
The volunteers are friendly and helpful, but sometimes modestly undersell the site. We were warned on arrival that the playground was not open and had no equipment. But in fact we found it was fully open with an excellent working zip wire and swing. Some bits were awaiting repair and had apologetic signs attached, but the kids had a great time.

A lovely site for an afternoon or day out. The cafe has a beautiful outside seating area which overlooks their own reed beds and nesting boxes. It would be very easy to lose many hours at Abberton Reservoir.

Peter R.

Really good place to do birdwatching (most diverse in the UK I've heard). The visitor centre has a cafe and toilets including baby changing and also you can get gifts. Parking is available and free. Well.worth a visit

Lesley G.

Lovely views of nearby feeders and the water from the visitor centre. Not a great choice of hot drinks if you need anything other than cows milk, but staff were helpful and friendly. Hides are well looked after and easy to access.

Vilma E.

Nice place for a walk. It's a shame that the small road by the lake around the reservoir is closed. Would be a perfect bike ride. There are footpaths around,but overgrown. Park inside is very looked after, and have some nice walks, kids playground around. Cafe is also very nice inside. But for cream tea didn't get clotted cream, just some whipped cream. You can take dogs in a cafe if you walking past, but not into reservoir.

Mark H.

Lovely setting for a hot drink and a chat, with or without binoculars, with or without rain. Friendly staff, enticing gift shop, freshly baked cakes and a guarantee I'll be back with my binoculars in better weather.