NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Bardon Mill
OS Map: NY785640 (OS 50 000 Sheet 87)
This 4 ha area of grassland has been influenced by heavy metal pollution in the past and now hosts several metallophyte species.
Location and access: Parking is by the side of the road, space permitting, and entry is via a gate at the west end of the reserve.
The Beltingham reserve contains a small area of grassland which has been influenced by heavy metal pollution in the past. This grassland contains metallophyte (metal loving) species, uncommon elsewhere in the region, such as alpine penny-cress, spring sandwort and mountain pansy. The rest of the reserve contains a mix of woodland and scrub where spikes of dune (narrow-lipped) helleborine are found. In recent times, Himalayan balsam has started to dominate areas along the banks of the Tyne. This is being removed to encourage native vegetation and to prevent bank erosion. Please keep to the footpaths in the woods, particularly in summer, to avoid trampling the dune helleborines and other plants or animals.