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.

This nature reserve was the site of a reintroduction project for the small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly, a vulnerable species.