NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Alwinton, Upper Coquetdale
OS Map: NT915061 (OS 50 000 Sheet 80)
This 2.7ha SSSI and LNR is an area of woodland lying on the north facing banks of the Barrow Burn.
Location and access: 1.5km south of Alwinton, car parking is available in the lay-by in front of the vicarage. Access is by permit only. Travel westwards through Harbottle village on the Alwinton road for 1.5 km. Cross the bridge over the River Coquet and park. Walk back over the bridge and take the public footpath on the right, north of Angryhaugh. This path crosses two fields before it follows the riverbank. Follow the footpath until you reach a footbridge over the burn. The reserve entrance is before the bridge.
This area of woodland lies on the north facing banks of the Barrow Burn, a tributary of the Coquet. The woodland is mixed, containing alder and willow with areas of hazel coppice. Oak, rowan and birch are also present. Calcareous flushes include butterwort and marsh lousewort. The central part of the site has a ground flora of ramsons and primrose with some opposite-leaved golden saxifrage. The rich bird life includes sparrowhawk, cuckoo, tree creeper, wood warbler and pied flycatcher. The site is managed in association with the Defence Estates and Northumberland National Park.