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A woodland home to rare ferns and lichen

Visit Hareshaw Linn and take a magical walk through an ancient woodland, crossing no less than six bridges to reach a beautiful nine-metre high waterfall.

This Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is designated for its rare ferns and lichen. More than 300 different types of mosses, liverworts and lichen can be found at Hareshaw Linn.

The oak, hazel, elm and ash trees that grow here are great for wildlife. Keep a look out for red squirrels, great spotted woodpeckers, wood warblers, spotted flycatchers, badgers and Daubenton’s bats.

History of Hareshaw Linn

This area was the site of an ironworks established by Messrs Bigge and Partners in 1833.

There were two blast furnaces, 70 coke ovens, 24 large roasting kilns for calcining the iron ore, a range of coal stores, a blacksmiths shop, wagon shed, stables and stores.

The ironworks were in continuous production until 1848. Ten years later the plant was auctioned and many of the buildings demolished.

You can still see the dam that supplied water to power the iron works and mounds formed from leftover ash and stone.

Points of Interest

The grey and green growths on rocks and trees in Hareshaw Linn are lichens (pronounced like-ens or litchens). Lichens are fungi and algae living together as one.

The fungus gets food from the algae, and the algae get protection from the fungi.

Getting there

By car

From the A1, take the A69 and A68 to Bellingham, then look for the Hareshaw Linn signposts.