Ryde Sands and Wootton Creek is a 424.2 hectare Site of special scientific interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 which stretches along the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, from Wootton Bridge

Wootton Bridge

Wootton Bridge is a village and civil parish with about 4000 residents on the western bank of Wootton Creek on the Isle of Wight in southern England....

 past Ryde

Ryde

Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...

 and Seaview

Seaview

- Places:* Seaview, Victoria, Australia, locality in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia* Seaview, Canterbury, a suburb of Timaru, New Zealand* Seaview, Clifton beach, a beach in Karachi* Seaview, Isle of Wight, a small village in England...

 to Seagrove Bay

Seagrove Bay

Seagrove Bay is a bay on the north east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the east of the village of Seaview. It faces east towards Selsey Bill and its shoreline is 1 km in length. It stretches from Nettlestone Point in the north to Horestone Point in the south.Roughly at the...

. The majority of the area consists of intertidal sand and mud flats exposed at low water, a large proportion of this being Ryde Sands. Also within the site is Wootton Creek

Wootton Creek

Wootton Creek is a tidal estuary that flows into the Solent on the north coast of the Isle of Wight.On the west bank of the creek is the village of Wootton, whilst on the east bank is the village of Fishbourne. The estuary is bridged by the main Ryde to Newport road, where there once was a tide mill...

 itself and the Alan Hersey Nature Reserve

Alan Hersey Nature Reserve

The Alan Hersey Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located on the north east coast of the Isle of Wight between Springvale and Seaview a drain that passes under a toll road and down the beach. Hence it can only drain into the sea at low tide...

 at Seaview Duver. The site was notified in 1993 for its biological features.