Whitelee Moor is nature reserve of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, in Northumberland, England, near

Carter Bar __NOTOC__ Carter Bar is a pass in the Cheviot Hills, on the Anglo-Scottish border. It lies east of Carter Fell at the head of Redesdale, and is crossed by the A68 road as it runs north towards Teviotdale. The name "Carter Bar" is relatively mod ...

. A large part of the moor is blanket bog. It is a national nature reserve, and is in a Special Area of Conservation."Whitelee Moor"
''Northumberland Wildlife Trust''. Retrieved 5 February 2022 Being part of

Kielderhead and Emblehope Moors Kielderhead and Emblehope Moors are contiguous areas of moorland in northern Northumberland, England. A section of Kielderhead Moor is part of neighbouring Scotland. The moors are classified as a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI ...

, it is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

Description

Whitelee Moor was bought by the Trust in 1999, with help from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Its area is . There is blanket bog, heather

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

and grassland; also more than of new woodland. The River Rede and its tributaries provide diversity of habitat. Visitors are advised to have hill-walking experience if attempting long walks, as it is a remote area and the weather can change quickly.

Blanket bog

This kind of terrain evolves over acidic bedrock where rainfall exceeds loss of water through evaporation and plant transpiration; the species of plants in this environment do not break down, and peat accumulates. The vegetation, having a barrier of peat below it, is fed only by rainwater, and the bog becomes low in nutrients. Blanket bog in the United Kingdom began to develop 5000 to 6000 years ago; it is in the west and north, and most of it is in Scotland."Blanket bog"
''The Wildlife Trusts''. Retrieved 7 February 2022. The blanket bog has plants such as

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

bog asphodel ''Narthecium ossifragum'', commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Nartheciaceae. It is native to Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about in eleva ...

and

cloudberry ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...

. Drainage channels, formerly dug across the bog, have been dammed to ensure that it remains wet.

Woodland and moorland

On the moorland, birds such as

red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes consider ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

and hen harrier may be seen. Butterflies in summer include

ringlet The ringlet (''Aphantopus hyperantus'') is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is only one of the numerous "ringlet" butterflies in the tribe Satyrini. Range The ringlet is a widely distributed species found throughout much of the Pale ...

and small heath. A notable insect is the northern eggar moth. The new woodland contains birch,

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

and willow; there is

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and oak in sheltered places.

References

{{Reflist Nature reserves in Northumberland Grasslands of the United Kingdom Bogs of England Moorlands of England National nature reserves in England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Northumberland Special Areas of Conservation in England Rochester, Northumberland