The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is set to open a new visitor centre at its 736-acre Lakenheath Fen nature reserve in Suffolk on 18 May.
The £700,000 visitor centre will feature a visitor reception and meeting place, toilets and office space.
If the RSPB can attract more visitors to the wetland bird reserve and boost revenue, the facility will also add a shop and café.
One Railway has also announced plans for a train service linking Norwich, Cambridge and Peterborough to Lakenheath station, which is next door to the reserve, for weekend day-trippers from 20 May.
The reserve – created from carrot fields as a haven for rare wetland birds more than a decade ago – already attracts around 13,000 visitors each year, who come to see its golden orioles, marsh harriers, reed warblers and bearded tits. For the first time last year, a booming bittern was heard on site, which may return with a breeding partner this spring. The RSPB hopes that the added attractions will boost visitor numbers to more than 50,000.
Eleanor Fretwell, public affairs officer for the RSPB, said: “The reserve is host to a wide variety of wetland birds, as well as the rare marsh carpet moth. With the new facilities and train service, we now hope to bring more people to Lakenheath Fen.”
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Suffolk Development Agency and Suffolk County Council funded the scheme.
