Remote, quiet and Dark Sky-friendly (but with no mobile signal, Kielder Campsite is the remotest…
Our View
The Kielderhead NNR is composed of a high-level blanket mire, featuring both wet and dry heath. This is dissected by a number of valleys with vegetation characteristic of better drained soils, including scrub-filled cleughs (small rocky valleys). The primary interest of the reserve is its large area of undisturbed moorland, which is now uncommon in England, and which supports a wide range of plant communities and a variety of upland birds, especially waders like golden plover, curlew and lapwing, and birds of prey. The raptors which the internationally important blanket bogs support include goshawks, buzzards and hen harriers. Ospreys nest in the nearby Kielder Forest, and can sometimes be seen fishing in the Bakethin Reservoir at the north end of Kielder Water. One of the more unusual residents of the Kielderhead NNR is the large herd of rather smelly feral goats that roam the remote Border fells.
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About the area
Discover Northumberland
If it’s history you’re after, there’s heaps of it in Northumberland. On Hadrian’s Wall you can imagine scarlet-cloaked Roman legionaries keeping watch for painted Pictish warriors while cursing the English weather and dreaming of home. Desolate battlefield sites and hulking fortresses such as Alnwick, Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh and Warkworth are reminders that this, until not so very long ago, was a contested border region. The ruins of Lindisfarne bear witness to the region’s early Christian history.
Northumberland also has some of Britain’s best beaches. On summer days, and even in winter, you’ll see surfers and other brave souls making the most of the coast. Inland, there are some great walks and bike rides in the dales of the Cheviot Hills and the Simonsides – just hilly enough to be interesting, without being brutally steep. There's dramatic scenery in the High Pennines, where waterfalls plunge into deep valleys, and there are swathes of heather-scented moorland. Northumberland National Park covers over 400 square miles of moorland and valleys with clear streams and pretty, stone-built villages. It’s just the place for wildlife watching too. You’ll find flocks of puffins, guillemots and other seabirds around the Farne Islands, and seals and dolphins offshore.
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