Spurn Point, England

Spurn Point Nature Reserve in Hull, East Yorkshire, England

Spurn Point (or Spurn Head) is a curiously-shaped sandbank on the North edge of the mouth of the Humber estuary. This unusual landmark is composed of three miles of sand and shingle held together against the constant onslaught of the North Sea by marram grass and sea buckthorn.

The surrounding mud flats make Spurn Point an excellent and internationally popular place for bird-watching, as its position and high prevalence of Easterly winds make it an excellent spot from which to observe the spring and autumn migrations of birds such as cliff swallows, black terns and Marmora's warbler. A good morning in autumn can see over 15,000 birds fly past the observatory on their way to breeding and wintering grounds elsewhere. In the winter, large numbers of wading birds and wildfowl gather on the mud flats.

Spurn point is also a superb spot for sea fishing, with cod, whiting and flats being caught throughout the winter, and skate and bass in the summer. Spurn Beach is composed of soft sand and shingle, and provides a popular place for beach-combing and even fossil hunting, with an abundance of fossils to be found among the shingle and stones. The Spurn Point site is also a beautiful place for a leisurely walk or just a day out with the family, with several signposted paths running up and down the point from the car park.