About the reserve

Home to Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s headquarters, the reserve is surrounded by housing estates, and as a result acts as a refuge for many species of animal; with the variety of habitats there are a good number of species to be found in the grounds. There is a feature stone circle with examples of many of the rocks found around Northumberland.

The ponds harbour a variety of plant and animal species, in particular attracting large numbers of frogs in early spring and during the summer months, dragonfly and damselfly. The meadow area attracts a diverse range of butterfly including holly blue, small skipper, comma and orange tip. There is woodland surrounding the site which was planted 25 years ago containing a wide number of both native and non-native tree species. This provides an excellent habitat for birds all year round, with bullfinch, woodpecker and jay regularly spotted as well a more common garden species. The berry producing shrubs and trees have also attracted waxwings to the site on several occasions. There is a good mixture of plants around the site including meadow sweet and ragged robin. The grassland contains species such as yellow rattle, cowslip and tufted vetch, given time this habitat will become more diverse.