• Sitemap

• Managing Organisation:

  Christchurch Borough Council

• Contact:

  Clive Sinden

• Telephone:

  01202 495072 
• Click here to visit website
• Click here for winner's location
• Submit feedback for this park

Information about this open space

Steamer Point Local Nature Reserve (LNR) comprises 11ha of deciduous woodland, grassland and ponds situated on sea cliffs in Christchurch, south-east Dorset. The location, facing the Solent, close to Christchurch Harbour, and connected to continuous undercliff habitat make Steamer Point an essential and valuable part of a larger coastal wildlife corridor. In the 18th Century the area was known as Common Gate and comprised of land made of heaths, woods, streams and fields leading down to the sea. In the 1830s, the owners of the nearby Highcliffe Castle wedged a paddle steamer into the cliffs for use as a summer house. It is this that gives Steamer Point its name. Then, in 1939 the area was requisitioned for the war and used for secret communications research. Today, it is a valuable resource for wildlife, recreation and community events.  A warm welcome is guaranteed in the solar powered information centre housed in a converted WW2 blockhouse. Here one can learn about the site’s intriguing history and of today’s wildlife as well as how to become involved with looking after the nature reserve. The centre is also home to Christchurch’s wildlife field studies and base for the many guided walks, events and activities associated with Steamer Point and the other nature reserves in the town. In 2005 Steamer Point became one of England’s newest LNRs, an acknowledgement of its importance for wildlife and the opportunity that it gives for people to access and enjoy a very special part of Christchurch’s local environment