NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Beadnell and Seahouses
OS Map: NU225305 (OS 50 000 Series Sheet 75)
This 51ha AONB site consists of a strip of dune habitat at the back of the bay between North Sunderland Point to the north and Dell Point to the south.
Location and access: Between Beadnell and Seahouses on the B1340, car parking at the lay-by on the main road.
Annstead Dunes consist of a strip of dune habitat at the back of the bay between North Sunderland Point to the north and Dell Point to the south. The dunes at the seaward edge are up to 10 metres high and slope steeply to the beach below. The landward fixed dunes vary greatly in height and are at their highest towards the southern end of the site. These fixed dunes once hosted a diverse flora, which has diminished through the encroachment of coarse grasses. As a result, paddocks for grazing cattle and Exmoor ponies have been installed, under a Countryside Stewardship agreement, in order to diversify the flora. Plants to look out for include bloody cranesbill, restharrow and hounds-tongue. The beach down as far as the lower water mark provides an important feeding site for many waders, including redshank, ringed plover, curlew and sanderling. The inland pastures are also owned by the Trust, although access is restricted to the public right of way over the south field. Harebell and other dune flora are present in these fields.