Lamesley Pastures

One of the few undeveloped river floodplains in the area, Lamesley Pastures is the perfect place for watching wading birds and enjoying pleasant scenery along the River Team.

Location

Lamesley Pastures Nature Reserve

Gateshead

NE11 0ER

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Know before you go

Size

18 hectares

Entry fee

Free

Public transport

The nearest bus stop is located just west of Greenford Lane and south of the Ravensworth Arms

Parking information

Parking is available at the Ravensworth Arms

Grazing animals

Cattle and sheep graze this nature reserve.

Walking trails

Access

The nature is split over two sides of Greenford Lane. Access the western part is via the car park of the Ravensworth Arms. On the eastern side, there is a short path on which leads to a bird hide. Keys for the bird hide are available from Gateshead Council.

Dogs

On a lead

Facilities

Bird hides

When to visit

Opening times

Open all hours.

Best time to visit

All year round.

About the reserve

One of the few undeveloped river floodplains in the area, Lamesley Pastures contains two designated Local Wildlife Sites.

The land is being managed as winter water meadows, with a system of ponds and ditches that control water levels to provide optimum conditions for wading birds such as lapwing, curlew, redshank and snipe.

New grasslands have been created to the west, with a series of ponds and reedbeds. These provide habitats for farmland animals and birds, numbers of which are in serious decline, like skylarks, grey partridge and brown hare.

Hedges provide homes for a wide variety of plants and animals including tree sparrows.

Durham Wildlife Trust took over the management of this site from Gateshead Council in June 2014 and will be continuing the work to develop the area for wildlife.

Accessibility and facilities

Mixed terrain. The west part of the reserve has mixed access with both surfaced and unsurfaced paths. Suitable for pushchairs but not wheelchairs due to slopes. The eastern part of the reserve has surfaced paths and wheelchair access.

There is a bird hide on the eastern part of the nature reserve, keys are available from Gateshead Council.