At this English nature retreat you can birdwatch from bed

There’s never a bad time to visit Elmley Nature Reserve. In the cooler months, murmurations of starlings cloud crisp winter skies while tens of thousands of waders fill rain-fed pools. The beginnings of spring signal the swooping of lapwings and the boxing of hares, while summer lets loose a burst of butterflies and bees. Autumn is peak season for nocturnal birds, with migratory short-eared owls adding to the roster of barn owls, little owls and their long-eared cousins. And you’ll find all of this perhaps where you’d least expect: the briny marshlands on the southern end of the Isle of Sheppey on the Kent coast. It’s a clanking industrial heartland, jutting into the North Sea just 40 miles east of London — framed by pylons, concrete flyovers and paper mills. Fittingly for an island now famed for its birds, it was historically renowned for aerial acrobatics of a different kind: this was the birthplace of British aviation, with the first aircraft factory built here in 1909.

The birdwatching experience

The off-grid, 3,300-acre Elmley estate is a quiet place for reading, painting, wild swimming and Scrabble. Sunbeams puncture broad skies, spotlighting waterlogged plains that stretch in some directions as far as the eye can see. Terns trace lazy flight paths among the wind-blown clouds; red-billed oystercatchers pick careful paths through the shallows. From the tall grasses, pheasants announce their presence with flapping wings and rasping hoots, loud enough to be heard over the rest of the avian choir.

Elmley’s marshlands are home to some of the UK’s most threatened birds. And exploring it, and its five-mile-long network of walking trails, is best done slowly. Head west of the working family farm at the reserve’s heart to find little owls roosting in the ruins of the old schoolhouse. Alternatively, request a picnic and make for wilder pastures. Remote Spitend hide, one of four and circled by marsh harriers, lies three-and-a-half miles across the wind-raked reedbeds to the east of the farm; Well Marsh hide, wheelchair-accessible and home to spoonbills and rare avocets, is along the way.

For the most thorough exploration, book onto a tour. Whether it’s a guided walk or a 4WD off-road safari, you’ll head into the corners of the reserve that most guests never get to see. On a dusk outing in search of the park’s nocturnal birds with the reserve’s head warden, it’s possible to see all four of Elmley’s owl species beneath amber skies.

The stay

This is the only national nature reserve in the country where you can stay overnight — and it’s arguably at its best in the ochre glow of dawn or bathed in the light of a full moon. Leave the curtains open and wake up, curled beneath a duvet, to watch distant lapwing flocks perform aerial sun salutations. Days are best spent lazily, starting with a thick-cut Kentish bacon sandwich or smashed peas on toast with Ashmore cheese delivered to your door. Your choices are to tug on walking boots and head out, or brew a coffee from the whistling kettle and prolong the bedside show.

Accommodation ranges from an 18th-century farmhouse to more rustic glamping options. Bell tents spring up in summer, while the five shepherd’s huts and four cabins are available to book all year round — Martha’s Hut is one of two new additions with widescreen windows. Many feature kitchenettes stocked with snacks such as marshmallows for toasting; cosy trimmings such as Kent’s Romney Marsh wool throws; and vintage cast iron radiators or wood-fired stoves.

After a long day of birdwatching, you can have a two-course dinner delivered in an evening hamper. Meals are prepared in partnership with Wasted Kitchen in Faversham, which makes use of surplus ingredients.