Japanese Rose or beach rose’ is a non-native invasive plant typically found growing in sand dunes and waste ground, to a mature height of up to 150cm. In recent years, the plant has been used in public parks and on roadsides to stabilise the soil, however, if left unattended its prominently veined foliage will spread rapidly and smother any flora it encounters.

Over the years, Annstead Dunes has sported ere has sported a fantastic display of wildflowers, due partly to a programme of fencing, conservation grazing by Exmoor ponies, and the removal of other invasive plants such as ragwort, martagon lily and Spanish bluebells.

Now, the removal of the Japanese Rose plants will allow more of the dune flora such as lady’s bedstraw, restharrow, pyramidal orchid and bloody crane’s-bill to thrive, ensure that by the summer there will be a carpet of colour on the coastal reserve and a vital food source for butterflies and other wildlife.

Annstead Dunes is an important wildlife haven, with the foreshore beach and Annstead Rocks providing an important site for wading birds. 

The England Coastal Cycle Path passes through the reserve with thousands of visitors experiencing its splendour each year.