Ballaugh Curraghs

The Curraghs are a low wetland of willow scrub, pools and fen behind the northern coast, protected as a Ramsar site for its habitat and its winter hen harrier roost, and they also hold something entirely unplanned: a population of red-necked wallabies descended from a pair that escaped the wildlife park in the 1960s and have bred in the willow ever since. They are seen at dawn and dusk and numbers now run into the low hundreds.

The landscape

• The wallabies - a wild population descended from 1960s escapes from the park.
• The willow carr - the dense wet scrub that makes up most of the reserve.
• The hen harrier roost - the winter gathering the wetland is protected for.
• The boardwalks - the routes laid across the wettest ground.

When to go

April to October for the walking. Wallabies are most visible at dawn and dusk. Harriers roost here from October to March.

Before you go

Wallaby sightings need patience and the right hours; midday visits usually see nothing. The ground is genuinely wet and paths flood. Mosquitoes are bad in summer.

Nearby

Curraghs Wildlife Park is beside it, and the Ayres are northeast.