Teesmouth NNR

Before visiting, please read the site bylaws in full here.

 

Teesmouth NNR is a Nature Reserve with a difference. Set against a backdrop of heavy industry, it shows how nature can adapt and thrive in the most unlikely of situations. This coastal reserve covers over 350 hectares and has a rich range of habitats.

 

The NNR is split into two main sections:

 

North Gare is an area of dunes and grazing marsh north of the power station. During winter, this is the domain of lapwings and flocks of curlew, which stalk the pastures alongside the approach road. During the breeding season, the grasses help to conceal the nests of skylarks and meadow pipits.

Seal Sands is one of the largest areas of intertidal mudflats on England’s north-east coast. When the tide is out, hundreds of waders, including redshank and dunlin, peck through the mud looking for protein-rich invertebrates.

 

Of course, Teesmouth can be enjoyed at any time of year but there are also special reasons to pay a visit:

 

Spring and summer

Enjoy fantastic displays of wildflowers on the North Gare dunes.

 

Autumn

The best time to see the noisy aerobatics of common and sandwich terns.

 

Winter

Marvel at the swirling flocks of knot arriving from Greenland and the Canadian Arctic – this is the coastal equivalent of those great inland starling roosts. Several hundred handsome, brightly-coloured shelduck also spend the winter on Seal Sands.

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Access

Teesmouth NNR is mid-way between Hartlepool and Redcar, approximately 5km to the north of Middlesbrough, to the east of the A178. The England Coast Path passes through the Reserve.

The North Gare car park (accessed via a minor road) is well signposted from the main road to the north of the Hartlepool Power Station. There is an orientation panel at the car park, and the nature trail begins by the Welcome Sign 100m to seaward.

Seal Sands can be accessed from the car park at Cowpen Marsh just south of the bridge over Greatham Creek.