The visitor centre at Romney Marsh Nature Reserve.
Ray Lewis

Romney Marsh Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve

Important update: The Visitor Centre is no longer operated by Kent Wildlife Trust. It has since re-opened under new ownership as The Nest. The country park and gardens - managed by the Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership - remain open to the public. Please read the update below.

Please read the update below.

  • Visitor centre

Wheelchair accessible. Most of the paths are level and hard and there is a choice of clearly signposted nature trails. 

2025 Update

The Romney Marsh Visitor Centre is no longer operated by Kent Wildlife Trust but has since re-opened as a retail and cafe space known as 'The Nest'.

2024 Update

It is with a heavy heart that we have decided not to renew our lease of Romney Marsh Visitor Centre and will be handing the keys back to Folkestone and Hythe District Council from the 31st July 2024. 

We’re hugely thankful to our wonderful staff and incredible volunteers, who helped us turn the centre and gardens into the beautiful wildlife haven and community hub that it is today. We’re hopeful that this will give a new opportunity for another local organisation/s to take it on and go on to safeguard this site for future generations.  

With fascinating displays depicting the region’s natural and social history and opportunities to discover, explore and learn about the Romney Marsh’s unique landscape.

Please see below for questions and answers about this decision. 

Leaving the Romney Marsh Visitor Centre

It is with a heavy heart that we decided not to renew our lease of Romney Marsh Visitor Centre in 2024 and handed the keys back to Folkestone and Hythe District Council from 31 July 2024. Please find below answers to some of the questions you may have.


Having completed a full review it’s become clear that with visitor numbers dropping and costs increasing our management of the visitor centre here is no longer viable and does not now fit within our strategic objectives. We will therefore be reinvesting this spend into alternative projects that we feel will deliver greater benefits for nature. We’re hugely thankful to all our staff and volunteers who have made the centre, gardens and trails the wonderful wildlife haven and community hub that it is today. We’re hopeful that this will give a new opportunity for another local organisation/s to take it on and go on to safeguard this site for future generations. As a SSSI site there is not risk of development here. 

We worked closely with the team at Folkestone and Hythe District Council who worked to actively explore opportunities with several local interested parties about taking over the lease here. Romney Warren Country Park is managed by the Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership and remains open. As of 2025, the visitor centre has since re-opened under new ownership as The Nest.

Our lease officially ended on the 31 July 2024. Shortly prior to this, we reduced our activities and started to reduce the visitor centre opening hours from June onwards with our last event hosted here on the 19 May 2024. 

There is absolutely no intention to close our visitor centre at Sevenoaks, in fact, we’re looking to enhance our offering there in the coming months and years. We also recently signed a new cafe partnership at Tyland Barn and are exploring expansion opportunities at Oare Marshes and The Blean. We are fully committed to building our community organising and engagement activities as a key part of our Wilder Kent 2030 strategy and see our reserves, visitor centres, and events programme to be instrumental in achieving our goal to inspire 25% of Kent residents to act for nature.