Slimbridge put-in (Stroud)

The reserve's habitat here is a mosaic of pasture, reed bed, lagoon and salt marsh, and the Canoe Safari trail threads about a kilometre of it, past reed beds and under overhanging branches.

WWT draws water through a series of reedbeds and a Rhyne ditch network to manage levels across the reserve. That is what keeps this stretch shallow, slow-moving and holding water year-round, while the surrounding grazing marsh floods only seasonally.

The neighbouring Severn Estuary, which this launch does not give onto, is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation, a Special Protection Area and a Ramsar wetland of international importance, recorded as having the second-highest tidal range in the world and extensive intertidal mudflats and saltmarsh. The reserve itself is a wintering site for wildfowl including white-fronted geese, and the safari trail passes dragonflies, kingfishers, warblers, ducks and, occasionally, water voles.