RSPB Ham Wall

Reedbeds on the Levels

Ham Wall is an RSPB reserve on the Avalon Marshes, with a Meare, Glastonbury address. The reserve is known for booming bitterns, and otters and water voles live here too.

The reserve has viewing platforms and hides along its routes. Waltons Screens, Tor View Hide and Avalon Hide are the named ones, and Tor View Hide is named for its outlook towards Glastonbury Tor.

Walking and cycling

The main route is the Main Track and Reedbed Trail, which is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. Other named walks include the Waltons Heath trail, the Loxtons Marsh trail and the Ham Wall Loop.

The Bittern Trail is the cycling route along the Main Track, and bike racks stand near the car park. Cycling elsewhere on the reserve, including grass paths, is not allowed.

Starlings in winter

Ham Wall is one of the places to see the starling murmurations over the Avalon Marshes in winter. The birds move between roosts, so check the RSPB’s starling roost page for where they are settling before you drive out.

Facilities, dogs and rules

The car park holds 120 vehicles and its gate is locked outside opening hours, which run from early morning to early evening in winter and later in summer. The accessible toilets, which include baby changing, are in a separate block near the Info Point. There is a dog water bowl at the Info Point, but no dog waste bins, so take waste home. Barbecues are not allowed at any time, and drones need permission from the Site Manager.

Dogs are limited to public footpaths and the Ham Wall Loop, so read the RSPB’s dog rules before you set out. The Bittern Trail also links the reserve with the Avalon Marshes Centre on foot or by bike. Without a car, the 668 bus serves Meare, about 1.5 miles away, and the roads from Meare and Ashcott have no pavements.