The Nature Reserve, which currently comprises the southernmost one-third of the Paxton Pits complex, is managed by Huntingdonshire District Council, with support from The Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. If you visit the reserve, please take a moment to check the map in the car park or pop into the Visitors' Centre so that you can get the most from your visit.

Facilities
The car park holds about 40 vehicles (coaches only by arrangement).
The Visitors' Centre is run by volunteers and is open on most days. Built in 1989 and extended in May 2002 and again in January 2010, volunteers provide information and refreshments each weekend throughout the year. If it’s not open when you visit, we’re sorry! But if you’d like to join our team of voluntary wardens, please ask!

In the centre, you will find:
A volunteer to welcome you and answer your questions
Refreshments: hot drinks, soup, squash, canned drinks, crisps, chocolate biscuits (and ice creams in the summer).
Leaflets and maps about the reserve and other local attractions
A large-scale relief map of the reserve
An up-to-date sightings board/book - please pop in at the end of your visit to tell us what you have seen
A viewing window, with binoculars and telescopes, of the feeding station and the Meadow
A children’s corner, with activities for our younger visitors and a nature table, including some of the mammoth finds from the quarry
An internet-enabled computer, with CD-Roms for wildlife identification
Bird food for sale, to feed your feathered garden friends, plus local books and field guides - click here for more
Somewhere to sit down (inside and outside)

The toilets (including disabled toilet and nappy-changing facilities) are open every day, and during the evenings when there are events or visiting groups.

Access for the less able
In the car park, two parking bays are reserved for registered disabled drivers or passengers, closest to the Visitors' Centre.
Access to the Visitors' Centre is via a ramp, with handrail, and there is a toilet with wheelchair facilities.
The Heronry Trail is mostly wide and hard-surfaced. Wheelchairs can access the kissing gates using a RADAR key. The path around the Hayling Pit can also be used by wheelchairs.
An electric ‘buggy’ is available from the Visitors' Centre, please ask the volunteer warden on duty (you will be asked to leave your car keys as a deposit)

What to wear
Wellingtons or stout walking shoes are advisable in wet weather, especially when using the Meadow Trail, the River Trail, the Sailing Lake trail or the Ouse Valley Way. The Heronry Trail, however, remains relatively dry in all but the worst weather conditions.

Group visits - please book in advance
Visits by schools or other groups are very welcome, but we do ask you to book in advance. Click here for more information.

For more information about Huntingdonshire Countryside, contact St Neots Tourist Information, The Old Court, 8 New Street, St Neots PE19 1AE. Tel: 01480 388788.