Scolt Head Island Nature Reserve is made up of over 727 ha of continually changing sand dunes, salt marshes and shingle ridge just under four miles long.

Scolt Head Island belongs mostly to the National Trust who bought it from Lord Leicester in 1923 with money raised by local naturalists. An important nature reserve an undisturbed habitat with breeding colonies of common, Sandwich, Arctic and little terns, ringed plovers, oystercatchers, black headed gulls and some waders.

Owned jointly by The National Trust and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and has been a Nature Reserve since 1923.

A nature trail has been laid out on the island and boats takes people out to the island (tide permitting)  during appropriate months from the tiny harbour at Brancaster Staithe.

However, there is no access to the west part of the island in May and June and all the terneries are out of bounds from mid April to mid August so that breeding birds are not disturbed.