CONSERVATION
Hill 60
Visit: Open: Visit 365 days a year, no restrictions. Parking: Limited street-side parking on Fell View. Accessibility: Unsurfaced paths, might not be suitable for all users. Time of year: Worth a visit year-round, but as the management work proceeds, early summer should be a good time for wildflowers.
What to see: ver the next 30 years Durham Wildlife Trust will be restoring nature at Hill 60, a two-hectare pasture at the heart of Crawcrook village. Hill 60 is a local landmark that has special meaning for the residents of Crawcrook, and provides a place where people can enjoy a little bit of nature on their doorstep. The name Hill 60 is thought to have come from the Ypres Salient, where local men, serving in the Northumberland Fusiliers, fought during the First World War.
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Linnet, song thrush, chiffchaff, house sparrow, white throat, goldfinch, heath bedstraw, bird’s-foot trefoil, common sorrel, tormentil, field scabious, wax cap fungi.
The Trust’s work will focus on restoring the grassland to bring wildflowers back to Hill 60. This will involve cutting and removing some annual grass growth, alongside conservation grazing and wildflower seed introduction. The mature hedgerows will be managed to maintain their interest to birds, and new hedges will be planted that will provide additional habitat in the future.
The Folly he Folly was once an industrial landscape. A sand quarry up to its closure in 1966, The Folly provided raw materials needed by local industry, and was then operated as a landfill site, gradually being infilled over a 12-year period, then capped and restored.
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Although the habitats created since the restoration of the landfill site are still relatively young, the blocks of broadleaf woodland, mix of established and newly planted hedgerow, and the seasonal pond, create a mosaic of habitats that support a broad range of wildlife. The grassland, which accounts for the majority of the site, supports plants and insects now threatened due to habitat loss. Since the Second World War the UK has lost an incredible 97% of its flower-rich grasslands. Management of this site will focus on implementing conservation grazing through the late summer and autumn months, and the annual maintenance of new hedgerows. 6
Wildlife Durham | Summer 2022
Visit: Open: Visit 365 days a year, no restrictions. Parking: Limited parking on Long Ridge Road. Accessibility: Unsurfaced paths, might not be suitable for all users. Time of year: Best in June, July, August for the grassland.
What to see: Skylark, bullfinch, kestrel, primrose, cowslip, bird’s-foot trefoil, meadow vetchling, hawkweeds, common spotted orchid, harebell, and agrimony, common blue, ringlet, and meadow brown butterflies.
