Sites of wildlife interest
SOUTH SHIELDS FERRY 11 River Tyne to Trow Point
TROW POINT
4 River Don Saltmarsh
CHICHESTER
PEDESTRIAN/CYCLE TYNE TUNNEL TUNNEL 12 Trow Point to Lizard Point
1 Hebburn Riverside MARSDEN JARROW
TYNE DOCK HEBBURN 7 Temple Park 3 Primrose Nature Reserve LIZARD BEDE POINT
10 Marsden Old Quarry
2 Monkton Fell
Great North 6 Newton Garths Forest BROCKLEY Key to all site maps WHINS on following pages BOLDON 9 Cleadon Hills Public paths/sculpture COLLIERY FELLGATE WHITBURN
Open space CLEADON
Restricted open space 6 Tilesheds Nature Reserve 5 Station Burn and Colliery Wood
Woodland Great North Forest WEST EAST BOLDON BOLDON Urban/industrial areas 13 Lizard Point to Whitburn 8 Boldon Flats Agricultural areas
Great Beach North Forest
Rocky shoreline South Pier 11 The Coast: River Tyne to Trow Point
The river mouth is always full of excitement, with the constant coming Mouth of River Tyne and going of ferries, yachts and fishing trawlers. But the piers and South beaches are also excellent places to enjoy the huge variety of marine Groyne life that lives along our coast. The strand line on the beach at Sandhaven, with its sea weed and plant debris, is alive with insects that in turn provide much-needed food for wading birds. Look out in winter for up to 100 sanderling, a little white bird that feeds by running up and down the beach in front of the waves Littlehaven looking like a clockwork mouse. When the sea is calm, at any time of the year, the end of the South Pier is a
ACCESS good place to scan for PURPLE SANDPIPER There is good open access to cetaceans (whales and most of the area, including the dolphins). Sightings might Groyne and South Pier, but the include small groups of South latter is closed to the public harbour porpoise hunting Shields in rough weather. OAD Dunes shoals of herring, or bottle- AN R OCE TRANSPORT nosed dolphin straying South There is a regular bus from their home range in Marine Park service along the the Moray Firth. It is even Lake Coast Road (no E1). SOUTH possible to get views of the SHIELDS S impressive, 10 metre long, EA R O minke whale. In winter, at high tide, there is a roost of purple sandpipers AD and turnstones on the pier. The sand dunes, at 15 hectares, are the biggest in Tyne and Wear. Sandhaven Formed in the last 60 years, they are battered by the sea and also eroded by large numbers of visitors. Despite this they are held together by tough plants like marram, lyme-grass, sand sedge and sand couch, and are home to many specialist plants and insects that are adapted to this Trow demanding habitat. Point In winter South Marine Park Lake plays host to waterfowl including over 150 mute swans and 200 tufted duck - the biggest gathering
MUTE SWANS AND TUFTED DUCK AND TUFTED SWANS MUTE of each of these wild birds in the county.
500m