NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Slaggyford
OS Map: NY681521 (OS 50 000 Sheet 88)
This 1.5ha AONB, SAC and SSSI in a heavy metal grassland with a range of rare and unusual lichens.
Location and access: The reserve is south of the village of Slaggyford, on the east bank of the South Tyne. Cross the river eastwards on the the minor road to Williamston from the A689. The gate on the corner just after the bridge is the entrance to the reserve. Car parking is on the roadside at the junction of the A689 and the minor road to Barhaugh.
Located on the South Tyne, this is a similar habitat to that found at Beltingham with heavy metal grassland, but the site is more open and the heavy metal influence is stronger. Plants found here include spring sandwort, alpine penny-cress, sea thrift, mountain pansy and kidney vetch. The reserve also contains unusual and rare lichens that are specialised to grow on such contaminated ground. A small area of basic grassland includes quaking grass, salad burnet, milkwort, and grass-of-Parnassus. A major part of the site is scrub woodland, which contains moschatel, opposite-leaved golden saxifrage and dune helleborine. This habitat needs frequent management to prevent loss of the grassland species. Otters use the river and slow worms can sometimes be found in the open areas of grassland.