Horsey Island is both a comparatively new and a rapidly disappearing island. It is located to the south west of the town of Braunton in North Devon and has an area of 80 hectares. The land was reclaimed from the sea in 1857 and enclosed by an earth bank and a dam to protect it from the sea. It was then used for pasture, arable crops and rough grazing. In 1910 a storm breached Horsey Island's sea wall in 5 places. It was repaired in 1911.
The River Caen flows south down the eastern side of the island and into the estuary of the River Taw, which flows in a south westerly direction along the south side of the island. Excess rainwater was drained from Horsey Island via a pipe into the river. The pipe had a flap on the end to stop sea water from coming back up it. In 2014 or 2015 the flap broke and the condition of the sea wall around it gradually deteriorated. In November 2017 the sea wall was breached. In January 2018 the breach was widened by Storm Eleanor and the island flooded. Several old stone farm buildings on the island were damaged. The breach was not repaired and the island was regularly flooded with sea water and was reverting to salt marsh, sandbanks and mudflats. By autumn 2019 the breach was 60 metres wide.
In November 2019 Devon Wildlife Trust announced that it had bought Horsey Island, helped by a generous donation from a local resident and bird watcher called Mark Ansell. It is now managed as a nature reserve. Salt tolerant plants such as samphire, sea blite and sea purslane have colonised the island, which is now visited by thousands of wading and other birds, which land there to rest and feed. Golden plovers, curlews, little egrets, shelducks and lapwings are common but ospreys, spoonbills, glossy ibis, cattle egrets, great white egrets and ruff have also been seen on the nature reserve.
The South West Coast Path used to run along the top of the sea wall on the south and east sides of the island. Since October 2016 it has been diverted and it now runs alongside the toll road on the north west side of the island on the inner sea wall, which was built in 1811-1815 when Braunton Marshes were reclaimed from the sea. This is currently the only way you can view Horsey Island - there is no access to the island itself.
Devon Wildlife Trust notice near Crow Beach House
Viper's bugloss on the outer sea wall
Looking across Horsey Island from the outer sea wall
Outer sea wall
Estuary of the River Taw and Appledore from Horsey Island
Looking NE across Horsey Island towards Braunton
Horsey Island
Looking NW up the outer sea wall
Looking south west down the outer sea wall towards Horsey Mere
Female large skipper butterfly on the sea wall
