Upper Solway Flats & Marshes. 01/10/86; England, Scotland; 43,637 ha; 54°54'N 003°25'W. Special Protection Area EC Directive; Nature Reserve, SSSI, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Bordering Scotland, the extensive flats and marshes form one of the largest and most important continuous areas of intertidal habitat in Britain. The site exhibits an outstanding display of vegetational transition from seaward edge communities through grassy saltmarsh to mature marsh. The estuary is internationally important for numerous species of wintering waterbirds, whose numbers reach 121,325 individuals and include the entire Svalbard breeding population of the goose Branta leucopsis. The site is a vital estuary link used by various migrating waders, and the area is used for recreation, fishing, and grazing. Extended 30/11/92 from the former Ramsar Site Rockcliffe Marsh. Ramsar site no. 341. Most recent RIS information: 2005.