Falstone Moss

Notice: Due to restoration work, this site will be closed from the beginning of February until end of March.

One of the most accessible Border Mires sites, an area of heather moorland and blanket bog which comes alive in summer time with impressive insect life.

Location

300m west of Kielder Dam

Tower Knowe, Kielder

Northumberland

OS Map Reference

NY 708 860

Know before you go

Size

22 hectares

Entry fee

Parking information

Car parking is at the south end of Kielder Dam or at Tower Knowe Visitor Centre (charge applies for both). A walk of 400/200m along the Lakeside Trail leads to the gate onto the moor. This is signposted to Falstone Moss. Postcode for sat nav, NE48 1BE.

Walking trails

A path leads up from the road between the Kielder dam and Tower Knowe. There is a permissive path within the reserve, which is narrow, initially steep and muddy in parts. A wide boardwalk in the reserve leads across the bog to a pond.

Access

Access is from the Lakeside Way between Tower Knowe and the Dam South car parks. A small kissing gate gives access onto open moorland (NY704868). A steep, narrow grassy path leads to the reserve entrance, and a similar kissing gate leads into the reserve. The terrain is rough, uneven and tussocky, muddy in parts and steep on the climb to the reserve – although once in the reserve, the ground is relatively level.

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

24/7/365

Best time to visit

Summer

About the reserve

Situated near to Tower Knowe at Kielder, this reserve is the most accessible of the Border Mires. The marked trail on the reserve leads from the road but is also accessible from the lake trail. The route climbs up through heather moorland before proceeding through a second gate and eventually onto a boardwalk across the bog.

The boardwalk heads to a small central pond. Species such as red grouse, adder, roe deer and the hairy caterpillars of northern eggar moth can be seen from the walk. In summer the central pool becomes alive with dragonflies and damselflies such as the common hawker, black darter and large red damselfly. Sphagnum mosses, the main peat-forming plants, are localised alongside the boardwalk. Growing in the moss are bog asphodel, cranberry, and occasionally bog rosemary.