Black Plantation

Black Plantation comprises 13.8 hectares of woodland dominated by semi-mature birch with a scattering of oak and other native broadleaf trees.

Location

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Black Plantation Nature Reserve

Satley

OS Map Reference

OS Map: 307

Know before you go

Size

14 hectares

Access

Terrain
Pathways are unsurfaced and may be muddy in wet weather.

Access & Parking
There is parking for 2 cars off the roadside just to the north of the entrance. The site has a network of permissive paths that create a circular route through the wood from two pedestrian entrances located off the B6296.

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

All the time

Best time to visit

Spring

About the reserve

A good example of a secondary broadleaved woodland that has developed on an ancient woodland site.

Black Plantation comprises 13.8 hectares of woodland dominated by semi-mature birch with a scattering of oak and other native broadleaf trees. Lying on the south bank of the River Browney, the wood is a short distance from Durham Wildlife Trust’s Ragpath Heath Nature Reserve.

The wood has regenerated naturally following clear felling, probably sometime during the 1960s and has a varied flora including wood sorrel, primrose and common dog violet as well as plenty of fungi species and sphagnum moss.

The woodland supports a good variety of bird species and also contains areas of species rich wet grassland with plants such as ragged robin, devils bit scabious, marsh thistle and betony providing a potentially rich nectar source for a large number of butterflies and other insects.