About
Rose-an-Hale Reserve is a small nature reserve in West Cornwall, at Gurnards Head. It is shaped by wind, salt, and rain. This is not a public reserve with visitor facilities; it is small at 15 acres and privately managed. Its purpose is to protect and improve habitat and biodiversity, and to build a long-term record of the species that live here. The reserve includes the kinds of transitional habitats that are easily overlooked but ecologically rich: rough ground, coastal slope, marsh and mire - and the restless boundary between moor and ocean. What matters here is not scale, but position. Rose-an-Hale lies on an edge, and edges are where things happen. The reserve is being developed gradually, through observation that informs intervention. The work involves protecting what is already here and through pond digging, tree planting and bracken control, creating a mosaic of habitats. The aim is to promote biodiversity and resilience. A central part of the project is recording wildlife over time. Observations from the reserve are collected through iNaturalist, creating an archive of species and seasonal change. Visitors are encouraged to contribute. Rose-an-Hale Reserve was created in memory of Vicky Stone, whose love of the natural world, these cliffs and her passion to share it, inspired all who knew her.
The Habitats
Coastal Heathlands
These nutrient-poor soils support a flora of gorse, bramble and heather. It supports some of our more elusive reptiles like viviparous lizards and adders.
Marsh and Ponds
These nationally rare habitats are important for amphibians and rare nesting birds like the reserve's iconic grasshopper warblers.
Exposed Rocky Shore
The intertidal zone of Rose-an-Hale cove is very exposed, so only the most resilient creatures can survive here. The cove is formed from an intrusion of Blue Elvan rock.
Cliff and Coastal Slope
The coastal slope is sculpted by the wind and cut by deep valleys and watercourses draining off the moors. It is dominated by blackthorn and goat willow.
