Martin Mere WWT
Martin Mere WWT wetland centre is a fantastic family day out, a great place for walking with kids. There are play areas, lots of birds including rare ones, play areas, accessible paths and there are usually additional activities on in the school holidays too. Find more Family walks North West here.
Ad – press trip. We were guests of WWT on our visit (free tickets) but all thoughts, opinions and photos are my own.
Where is Martin Mere WWT?
WWT Martin mere wetland centre is located in close proximity to Southport and Ormskirk. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the M6.
The address is:
WWT Martin Mere, Fish Lane, Burscough, Lancashire, L40 0TA
There is plenty of free parking if you arriving by car. There are 3 railway stations near to Martin Mere but they are all a couple of miles away from the nature reserve. The Martin Mere website has details of walks and cycling options from all 3 stations using local footpaths. Find further information here – Directions.
How much does it cost to visit Martin Mere WWT?
A family (2 adults, 2 children over 4 years old) currently costs £47.50 (with gift aid).
Don’t forget you can get 15% off if you do arrive on foot or by bike.
The Wildlife and wetlands trust (WWT) is a registered charity and you can become a member to get free entry to all WWT amazing wetland experiences across the UK. If you are local this means you can have unlimited visits for £78 a year for a family or just £51 a year for an individual. Children under 4 go free.
There are 10 wetland centres across the UK. We have also visited Slimbridge wetland centre which is well worth a visit if you are ever in Gloucestershire.
What is their for families at Martin Mere wetland nature reserve?
Martin Mere is a great place to take kids for a fantastic day out. You will see loads of wetland wildlife throughout your visit, enjoy walking in nature knowing there is lots to keep kids entertained, let them play on the adventure playground and there are often additional kids activities to enjoy on weekends and in school holidays.
What birds are there at Martin Mere?
There are loads of birds to see including some rare birds that you might not otherwise see. Our favourite is always the flamingoes and you an find them in a couple of locations at Martin Mere. There is also a group of white storks, common cranes, pink-footed geese, Southern screamers and lots more bird species.
What animals are at Martin Mere?
Whilst the majority of the wildlife here are birds, you will also find an otter enclosure with several Asian short-clawed otters. They usually have short otter talks and feeding times on for you to find out more about these animals and watch them eating. On our visit we saw them collecting and opening mussels.
Kids activities at Martin Mere
We visited Martin Mere at October half term to enjoy their Eek week which is an interactive trail around the reserve. They usually have special activities on in the summer holidays and during half term holidays too.
There is also a craft room in the visitor centre. When we visited there was a great selection of Halloween activities for children. These were priced between £1 – £3.
Near to the visitors centre is a mini wildlife pond area where you can enjoy pond dipping on weekends and in school holidays between set times. There are helpful staff on hand to get you started looking for pond creatures. My children really enjoyed this activity on our visit.
Playground at Martin Mere
There is a good size adventure playground right outside the visitor centre as soon as you enter the nature reserve. This play area is great for children up to 12 years. There are some baby swings, a small seesaw, slide/climbing frames of different sizes for different aged children and a zip wire. My kids love swings, zip wires and slides so they really enjoyed this play area.
There are also play equipment on the wild walk which is midway into the nature reserve. This is great for keeping kids walking around the nature reserve. We loved the tipi and den area near the canoe safari too.
Facilities at Martin Mere
There are toilet facilities in the visitors centre, near the playground and further into the reserve, near the canoe safari. There are accesible toilets and the toilet in the main corridor of the building has a hoist and an adjustable height changing table for adult changing.
There are plenty of picnic tables throughout the nature reserve as well as a cafe. The Mere side cafe has indoor and outdoor seating and serves ice cream, hot and cold food. You’ll find a gift shop in the visitor with a wide range of gifts for adults and children.
Family walks at Martin Mere
You can walk miles at Martin Mere and the paths are mostly accessible. The only area where the paths aren’t suitable for pushchairs (unless you have an off-road buggy) is the wild walk. The paths are all smooth and flat which make them perfect for little legs and prams. There are gates around the nature reserve but no stiles.
Martin Mere is great for family walks, not only are the paths very suitable but there is plenty to keep the kids entertained during your walk. My girls love flamingoes especially but also they were interested in the other bird enclosures and the play areas helped too.
We visited the day after a storm so the grass was very wet. The paths around the reserve were all perfectly fine for walking on with hardly any mud or puddles. The wild walk was a little muddy and wet in places but nothing we couldn’t manage. We didn’t have time to explore the reed walks on our visit so I can’t tell you how accessible those paths are.
There are other fun features like stepping stones over very shallow water which my kids thought were really fun on our visit.
Bird hides at Martin Mere
There are 12 bird hides of various sizes all over nature reserve, especially around the wetlands where we saw hundreds of wild birds. The hides had families in on our visits as well as adults with professional looking binoculars and photography equipment too. Families are made to feel welcome, especially in the discovery hide which is the nearest hide to the playground and the entrance to the reserve.
We loved the Harrier hide at the far end of the reserve where we enjoyed great views of all the birds on the reed beds. This is such an impressive looking bird hide.
Canoe Safari at Martin Mere
As well as walking around the nature reserve, you can also enjoy a boat tour or canoe safari for an additional fee.
You can enjoy a self-guided canoe trail and see parts of the wetland centre that aren’t accessible on foot.
Our verdict
We had a great day when we visited Martin Mere. We loved the bird hides, bird enclosures, watching the otter feeding and seeing all the flamingoes. My girls were 7 and 10 on our visit. They also really enjoyed all the play areas.
Nearby days out
You’re only a short drive from Billy Bob’s so you could easily combine the two. Find out more here – Billy Bob’s Preston.
You can also find loads of great playgrounds across Lancashire here – Best parks in Lancashire.
Find loads more Pram friendly walks Lancashire here.
Find more Things to do in Lancashire with toddlers here.
