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This is a must to visit if you are in the area as there is so much wild life to see and the dunes are also extensive.
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Date of experience: August 2020
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First visit to the area and enjoyed an excellent walk round the Forvie National Nature Reserve. We parked at the Visitor Centre which has an interesting display together with a self service video presentation. Very interesting details about Terns and Eider Ducks. Visitor Centre also has very clean and modern toilets available. We had a walk round the reserve with our dog, on a lead as requested, and enjoyed excellent views of the coast and heathland. Seals were seen close to the beach and numerous species of birds. Some of the paths were narrow and steep, not a problem if you are reasonably agile. We didn’t manage to see the whole reserve so lol forward to a future visit.…
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Date of experience: October 2019
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Forvie is fascinating at every time of year giving a different experience every time we visit! Lots of well made paths around the reserve make it easy to find your way around the dunes. Wildlife is incredible!
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Date of experience: August 2019
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We parked in the free Forvie National Nature Reserve car park just off the A975. Be careful entering and leaving the car park as the entrance is a rather narrow one between two metal posts. From there, it is a picturesque walk via marked paths to the sea. At the moment some areas are closed off to enable birds to nest in peace, but there is still lots to explore - the whole reserve covers almost a thousand hectares of sand dunes and dune heath. It is home to a rich variety of wildlife, especially seabirds. The beach is stunningly beautiful and I recommend a walk through the dunes, passing the ruined Forvie Kirk, to Hackley Bay. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the car park was well used, but you can walk for miles without seeing anyone. If you want to view the seal haul out, you won’t be able to see them from this side, as access is restricted to protect the seals. Instead you should go to Newburgh beach which also has its own car park. From Newburgh, there are marvellous views across the estuary of the seals and you will also see them swimming in the water.…
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Date of experience: April 2019
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Forvie is an amazing nature reserve with a huge variety of wildlife and habitats. One of the main attractions is the Seal haul-out which can be found at the end of the reserve. The beach the seals are on is designated by Marine Scotland making it an offence to intentionally or recklessly harass them. That is why the reserve requests they are view from the other side of the river on Newburgh beach where the won't be disturbed. Repeated disturbance by visitors on Forvie has a serious impact of Seals ability to rest, moult and breed on the reserve. This is why they are legally protected from being prevented from doing it. Ythan Seal Watch is an online group based on Newburgh beach which monitors the Seals and visitors who disturb them. The point of the signs and mapped routes on the reserve is to protect the wildlife and habitats there. It is extremely disappointing that a small number of visitors to Forvie continue to ignore this legal advice and view the Seals from the beach they are on causing serious disturbances to the colony. That is what we now tackle disturbances in a very public way. Please always respect wildlife and follow all signs, maps and advice on the reserve. It is also extremely frustrating for other visitors enjoying the Seals from the other side of the estuary on Newburgh. There is no information on the Forvie reserve to advise visitors to view the Seals from there. Visitors have right of responsible access. Part of that is following all the information and advice in the car-park when visitors arrive at the waterside car-park.…
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Date of experience: October 2018
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