NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Linton Village, near Ashington
OS Map: NZ253909 (OS 50 000 Sheet 81)
This 47ha former opencast coal mining site is now restored as two lakes and areas of grassland.
Location and access: There is limited parking by Hawthorn Cottage. To get there, take the minor road towards Linton and Longhirst on the roundabout of the A189 and A1068. Take the second turn on the right (next after the turn for Linton village). Park on the right before the railway crossing. The reserve begins north of the crossing. Please note there is strictly no access to the operational railway. There are two public hides on site.
A restored opencast site, the reserve consists of two ponds, the larger one of which is a subsidence pond fringed by emergent vegetation such as reedmace, with surrounding woodland and grassland. The second, smaller pond is also surrounded by grassland, with a wide range of species. The grassland to the east of the larger pond is grazed. The grassland to the west is ungrazed and is thus rank and dominated by coarse grasses. The area surrounding the smaller pond is being allowed to develop into marshland, grading into alder/willow carr, species-rich grassland, woodland and scrub. The ponds attract a variety of bird species including whooper swan, other waterfowl and skylark. Several species of bat have also been recorded on the site. The reserve also includes areas of mature woodland and hedgerow which attract yellowhammer and tree sparrow.