Cley Marshes Visitor Centre Reviews Summary

Visitor Experience

Pros:

• "Outstanding place to visit, great cafe and gallery to browse around and an outstanding nature reserve."
• "Lots to see and do, and has lots of different habitats, from scrapes, Marsh, reedbeds and beach and sea."
• "The RSPB visitors centre is free, they have a viewing gallery and provide powerful binoculars to view the marshes."
• "Lovely visitors centre with great viewing areas inside and outside."
• "Great location with good food and beverages."
• "One of my favourite places on the North Norfolk coastline."
• "Lovely place to visit. The main access point for NWT Cley and Salthouse Marshes is located 0.8km (0.5 miles) east of Cley."
• "This place has become a regular when up this way."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately, a lady who worked there was very rude and made us feel quite unwelcome in the cafe area."
• "Was disappointed really. Not because of the reserve but because of the enormous amount of money spent on the visitor centre."
• "Ok food, only let down was door was not 'policed' very well so was left waiting for a green light for ages."
• "Outside eating tables for cafe were also over run with bird watchers who couldn't be bothered to stand with the tripods in the viewing areas."
• "Service was very bad. When I asked a simple question about any additional seating was given a rude response by the server."
• "Struggling to adapt to COVID restrictions as a cafe, unfortunately. It's a shadow of its former self from two years ago+."
• "The visitor centre is a bit disappointing. It is mainly a small restaurant and a gift shop."
• "Went here 1st August. Great place to visit if you like wildlife and view birds in marches or see how loan the longest whale is in centre."

Facilities and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Good place visit for snacks etc, parking gives you access to the reserve across the road and a discount ticket on drinks."
• "The visitors centre is very accessible as are many of the hides outside with good walkways suitable for wheelchairs or scooters."
• "Regular buses stop outside the visitor centre – non-members can present their ticket for a reduced entrance fee to the hides."
• "The entire reserve can be circumnavigated by a series of walking tracks, which also lead into the village of Cley to the west and Salthouse to the east."
• "Handy tip; Buy your entry ticket in the visitors centre when you arrive (£5) and they will give you a ticket for free parking."
• "Disable parking close to the door, and a lift to first floor where the views can be very special."
• "The centre itself has a lift if needed there is a shop also an art gallery with regular exhibitions and artwork by local and not so local artists."
• "Set on the stunning North Norfolk coast, the hides are wheelchair accessible, as is the viewing area and cafe, via a lift."

Cons:

• "The cafe is alright for a quick lunch. There is a viewing platform to watch wildlife and try spotting scopes before you buy. The carpark is a rip-off if you only want to stay an hour or two."
• "Shame about the no dogs policy. we parked up paid the parking fee, then just going in did we see the small sign saying no dogs."
• "The only negative is that it would of been nice to have designed it with the carpark at the rear of the building so that you're not overlooking the cars first."
• "We have often driven through Cley and wanted to stop and have a look round the reserve but as it is a two hour drive away we thought we would stay at The George."

Wildlife and Nature

Pros:

• "Excellent wetlands visitor centre. Well worth visiting to see the wild life & birds from walkways & hides."
• "Great area for bird watchers and photography."
• "Amazing place to visit. The RSPB visitors centre... fascinating place, they also have hides out near the marshes."
• "Highly recommended for an accessible and gentle day out watching the wild birds visiting the salt marshes and reedbeds."
• "Aside from the water fowl and seabirds we saw Marsh Harriers and even spotted a Peregrine Falcon doing a high speed dive to take a Lapwing!"
• "A great place to visit in wet or dry weather in order to learn about the north Norfolk coast bird life."
• "The marshes are a must see, even if you are not too concerned about bird watching."
• "Fantastic for bird watching, walking and of course the beach."

Cons:

• "Doesn't open until 10.00, so if you arrive before then, you can go on the reserve before hand but you will be expected to pay before you leave the site."
• "Visited Cley reserve last year, unfortunately it may well be our last visit. We are amateur birdwatchers and upon entering a hide with our bird species books we were looked on quite disdainfully."
• "Cley used to be the Mecca of the birding world, now it's the Las Vegas. The birds still appear, but now overlooked by the glitz of the vast visitor centre."
• "Beautiful marsh with great birds, totally exploited by NNWT. You have to pay £3 to park in order to use the cafe."