Hesleden Dene Nature Reserve
County Durham
TS27 4PJ
Tel: +44 0191 584 3112
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Tel: +44 0191 584 3112
Hesleden Dene’s name derives from ‘hesle’, a corruption of ‘hazel’ hich can be found in abundance alongside ash and wych elm.
The reserve has exceptional natural exposures of magnesian limestone eroded to produce impressive outcrops with many caves and fissures.
Damp, humid conditions provide niches for impressive displays of mosses, lichens and fungi. Magnesian limestone grassland supports plants such as devils-bit scabious, common spotted orchid and twyblade. Woodland wildlife thrives with regular sightings of roe deer, fox, woodpeckers and tawny owl.
Hesleden Dene is best visited in spring for the woodland flora and autumn for the fungi and turning leaves.
2025 (1 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2025) |
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