Quarry Wood is a small wooded area in Preston Park,

Preston-on-Tees Preston-on-Tees, locally called Preston, is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 1,689. It is home to Preston Hall and it's accompanying p ...

in County Durham,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 2004 by Stockton Borough Council. The geography of the site is that of a large hole with banked sides leading to a small pond at the bottom and is densely populated with mature trees. The River Tees is to the East of the wood. As the name suggests the site was a Victorian

Whinstone Whinstone is a term used in the quarrying industry to describe any hard dark-coloured rock. Examples include the igneous rocks, basalt and dolerite, as well as the sedimentary rock, chert. Etymology The Northern English/Scots term ''whin'' is f ...

quarry from the 1820s to 1850s. The pond is where the main mine shaft was located, and although the depth of the pond is not known it is believed to be no more than 10m deep. The pond is not connected to the River Tees due to the impermeable nature of Whinstone. It is now a popular destination for aspiring younger mountain bikers, with the natural terrain providing ample features to ride. Preston Park itself is currently going through re-development work, and is expected to re-open fully in Summer 2012.

References

External links

* Local Nature Reserves in County Durham Borough of Stockton-on-Tees {{Stockton-geo-stub