Geograph - photograph every grid square

This square is almost all in the North Walney Nature Reserve, which is administered by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. It was populated in prehistoric times, as artefacts from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, bronze and iron ages have been found, including flints, pottery and a stone axe. The many ponds are due to gravel extraction by McLung, and the area was later used by Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd until the late 1980s. The area consists of sand dunes, slacks, wet and dry heath, salt marsh, and grassland. Many rare plants can be found in the area including dune and green-flowered helleborine, seaside centaury, coralroot orchid and variegated horsetail. The many species of bird that might be seen include knot, redshanks, ringed plovers, oystercatchers, dunlins, curlews, pintails, shelducks and red-breasted merganser. Also the area is home to 25% of the UK's natterjack population. Two 19C fields remain, at SD172724. These notes are taken from http://www.walney-island.com/natural_walney_01.htm

The photographs are of the salt marsh occupying the eastern half of the square. In the first one I should think that the flowers are Sea Lavender.

SD1772 : North End Marsh, North Walney SD1772 : North End Marshes