Nature Reserves
Nature Reserves managed by the Trust include Bishop Middleham Quarry, Hawthorn Dene and Low Barns, and include a range of important habitats, such as magnesian limestone grasslands, upland hay meadows and coastal denes. The magnesian limestone grasslands managed by the Trust represent some of the finest examples of this particular habitat type, of which only 200 ha remain in the UK.
The Trust's largest reserve is Hedleyhope Fell, near Tow Law, which is one of the finest examples of recovering mid-altitude heathland in the county - a rare habitat in County Durham. The site is very important because it supports a range of rare and uncommon flora and fauna, including lesser skullcap, stag’s-horn clubmoss and the velvet ant, which has not been recorded anywhere else in the County. It is also home to a large number of breeding birds and is an important site for the green hairstreak butterfly.
The Trust currently manages the following reserves:
| Reserve | Area (ha) | Grid reference | Owner |
| Baal Hill Wood | 15.5 | NZ069392 | DWT |
| Bishop Middleham Quarry | 10.0 | NZ332326 | Leased from Church Commissioners |
| Blackhall Rocks | 32.4 | NZ470392 | Leased from Durham County Council |
| Burnhope Pond | 14.1 | NZ183480 | Leased from Durham County Council |
| Edmondsley Wood | 12.5 | NZ229493 | DWT |
| Hannah's Meadows | 8.8 | NY934187 | DWT |
| Hawthorn Dene | 67.0 | NZ433458 | DWT / National Trust |
| Hedleyhope Fell | c200.0 | NZ139409 | DWT |
| Hesleden Dene | 8.5 | NZ444377 | DWT |
| High Wood NR | 2.5 | NZ128562 | DWT |
| Joe's Pond | 4.5 | NZ328487 | DWT |
| Longburn Ford Quarry | NZ072448 | ||
| Low Barns | 50 | NZ163313 | DWT |
| Malton NR | 4.5 | NZ182458 | Leased from Durham County Council |
| Rabbit Bank Wood | 7.0 | NZ112483 | DWT |
| Ragpath Heath | 3,5 | NZ144448 | DWT |
| Rainton Meadows | 60.0 | NZ326485 | UK Coal Ltd / City of Sunderland |
| Raisby Hill Grassland | 11.5 | NZ335355 | DWT /Tarmac |
| Redcar Field | 0.4 | NZ292198 | DWT / Natural England |
| Shibdon Pond | 13.7 | NZ194628 | Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead Council |
| Stanley Moss NR | 7.5 | NZ150388 | DWT |
| Town Kelloe Bank | 5.0 | NZ357371 | DWT |
| Trimdon Grange Quarry | 5.0 | NZ361353 | Leased from Durham County Council |
| Tudhoe Mill Wood | 37.5 | NZ254357 | DWT / Whitwirth Estates |
Read more about this topic: Durham Wildlife Trust
Famous quotes containing the words nature and/or reserves:
“Art is not tame, and Nature is not wild, in the ordinary sense. A perfect work of man’s art would also be wild or natural in a good sense.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“...I want to see a film, they send the Israeli army reserves to escort me! What kind of life is this?”
—Golda Meir (1898–1978)