NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Holywell, North Tyneside
OS Map: NZ319752 (OS 50 000 Sheet 88)
This 15ha SSSI pond, surrounded by grassland, is the result of mining subsidence. Despite being in an urban area, many over-wintering migrants are attracted from the coast.
Location and access: Car parking is in the nearby housing estate. Please do not obstruct residents’ access. There is a public hide, adapted for wheelchair use and a member’s hide, for which keys are available from the Wildlife Trust Office. To get there, turn east off the A192 in Holywell Village and park in the housing estate. Walk to the reserve along the narrow, high fenced path between the houses then around the field margin to the reserve. Most birds can be seen from the public hide and footpath skirting the reserve. Permits are needed to visit other parts of the reserve. It is not possible to walk around the pond.
The pond is a result of mining subsidence and is surrounded by grassland. The main interest is ornithological, in particular over-wintering migrant species which are attracted by the pond's proximity to the coast. Breeding species include little grebe, pochard, greylag goose and sedge warbler. Goose numbers grow during the winter when they are also joined by wildfowl including wigeon, goldeneye and tufted duck. Passage species include greenshank and green sandpiper, amongst other rarities. Botanically, the swamp and marsh vegetation at the pond edge is interesting, especially the lesser reedmace. The surrounding unimproved neutral grassland supports populations of common spotted and northern marsh orchids.