The Nene Wetlands Visitor Centre at the Rushden Lakes shopping centre will close its doors at the end of September for a restructure and refurbishment. When it reopens it will feature new classroom facilities and exhibits that will provide a more immersive and engaging experience for visitors of all ages, allowing the Trust to increase its engagement work in the county. 

At the nearby Summer Leys nature reserve the visitor centre will cease operating in its current form after the October half term. From Spring 2027 it will used as an education space for organised events but it will no longer open each day for the public and serve refreshments. 

Nicole Schreiner, Communities and Education Manager, said: “We want to reach more of the community in Northamptonshire and inspire people young and old to love nature. So we’re very excited to be getting an upgrade at our busy visitor centre at Rushden Lakes. 

“The Nene Wetlands nature reserve and Rushden Lakes shopping centre are fantastic places for people to discover wildlife, from the beaver family of Delta Pit to the thousands of spectacular wetland birds. The more people we can introduce to wildlife, particularly young people, the safer species will be in the future. 

“As we refocus our resources we will sadly no longer be able to keep the visitor centre at Summer Leys open and staffed every day but we’d like to say a big thanks to all the people who have popped by, had a chat, let us know their wildlife sightings, bought a coffee and supported the Trust there.”