Rainton Meadows is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

just to the west of East Rainton, County Durham, north-east England. The reserve, which covers 60 ha, and the adjacent Joe's Pond Site of Special Scientific Interest, are managed by

Durham Wildlife Trust Durham Wildlife Trust, founded in 1971, is a registered charity which aims to protect wildlife and promote nature conservation in parts of County Durham and Tyne and Wear, England. It is one of 46 such organisations that together constitute ...

Geography

The reserve occupies the site of the restored Rye Hill surface coal mine and now provides a wide variety of habitats including grassland, scrub, mature woodland and several ponds. Wildlife to be seen here includes mute swan,

skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

lapwing Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

and brown hare;

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

, water voles,

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian ...

common toad The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

s and smooth newts are also present. At the southern end of the reserve are damp

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

s with hemlock and

willowherb Willowherbs are annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the flowering plant family Onagraceae. Willowherb may refer to: * A species of willowherb in the genus ''Epilobium'' * A species of willowherb in the genus ''Chamaenerion ''Chamaenerion'' ...

, and a dry meadow, which contains cowslips in the spring. Rainton Meadows is the headquarters of the Durham Wildlife Trust, which also operates an educational centre, including a purpose-built classroom and a community wildlife garden.

Directions

Rainton Meadows can be found by following the brown signs from the A690 between Durham and Sunderland. By bus, the Meadows is served by the 20A every 20 minutes and the 35 every 20 minutes and stops at Rainton Bridge, alternatively the 20 serves nearby with a 5/10 minute walk from the bottom of Gillas Lane West, the 4 and 71 also serve nearby

Fencehouses Fence Houses, or ''Fencehouses'', is a small village within the parish of Houghton-le-Spring, on the edge of the City of Sunderland, England for the South with the North under the control of Durham County Council as part of County Durham. It cam ...

and Chilton with a 15/20 minute walk.

Facilities

Accessibility

* All areas are accessible to disabled visitors * Toilets for disabled visitors * Guide dogs are permitted * Ramp / level access * An on-site café offers tea, coffee, sweets, light refreshments and ice cream.

References

{{Nature reserves of the Durham Wildlife Trust Nature reserves of the Durham Wildlife Trust Nature reserves in Tyne and Wear Meadows in County Durham