Celebrate World Sand Dune Day with the Braunton Countryside Centre on the world famous sand dunes at Crow Point and Braunton Burrows. 

World Sand Dune Day is celebrated annually by coastal communities and projects across the world, established by Dynamic Dunescapes and Sands of LIFE, two projects working to restore coastal sand dune systems. Each year, #WorldSandDuneDay takes place on the last Saturday of June – this year it’s Saturday 29th June 2024.

Beautiful Braunton Burrows has the second-largest sand dune system in the United Kingdom. It is also a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a part of the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve due to its significance as a wildlife and sand dune habitat site on a global scale. The vegetation in this area has increased since the 1950s. Early successional dune stages, which are young, mobile dunes with masses of exposed sand, have been lost in large numbers due to the quick and widespread establishment of shrubs and plants that fix the sand. Because of this, a large number of the endangered species that inhabit these dunes have been drastically decreasing, and some have already gone extinct in the region.

In collaboration with the MOD, Dynamic Dunescapes has started constructing new, barren sand areas. These will provide habitats for a vast array of plants and animals that enjoy the bare sand, such as sand lizards, to flourish once more. This gives the area more sand to move around and form dune ridges. Along with clearing invasive plant species like sea buckthorn and Japanese rose that aren’t often found here, we’ll also be clearing away portions of the dunes that are overtaken by scrub. These plants have the ability to outcompete long-lived native species that have always been in this area. We’re also rebuilding the dune slacks; by eliminating some of the rapidly expanding willow species, we can enhance the vital slack pools.

Join us to learn more about this special habitat with local naturalist and knowledgeable dune expert, Mary Breeds.

Meeting at Broadsands Car Park, Crow Point. What3words: ///messaging.modules.match

Remember £2.50 cash for toll road entry.

Booking required

World Sand Dune Day – Guided Walk – Braunton Countryside Centre