Gait Barrows NNR
Gait Barrows NNR is a rich mosaic of limestone habitats including unique limestone pavement, yew woodland, fen and reedbed.
County: Lancashire
Main habitats: Woodland, Peatland, Lowland Grassland, Limestone Pavement
Area: 121.6 Ha
Site map: Nature on the Map
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The reserve contains the most notable pavement flora in Britain, and is important for its rich invertebrate communities. Around 800 species of moth have been recorded on the reserve, including the rare silky wainscot. The site also supports dragonfly and damselfly, and butterflies such as the Duke of Burgundy, high brown and pearl-bordered fritillary. Wood ant is common at the site and the rare narrow-mouthed whorl snail is also found here.
Local bird life includes green woodpecker, garden warbler, reed warbler, blackcap, bittern and marsh harrier.
There is a very rich fungi flora at Gait Barrows with over 1600 species being recorded.
The best time of year to visit the reserve is the spring and summer for flowering plants and all year for woodland birds.
Gait Barrows is part of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Please note that due to the sensitivity of the habitats on this reserve access is by permit only. To request a permit, please contact Rob Petley-Jones, email rob.petley-jones@naturalengland.org.uk Tel: 07747 852905 providing the address to which you would like the permit to be posted.
How to get there
The NNR is near Morecambe Bay, 2.5 km north of the village of Silverdale and 3 km south east of Arnside.
We encourage the use of sustainable transport whenever possible.
By cycle
The NNR is on the Regional Route 90 Lancashire Cycleway, an offshoot of National Route 6 of the Sustrans National Cycle Network.
By train
There are train stations in Silverdale and Arnside.
By bus
Local bus services to the area from Carnforth, Morecambe and Lancaster are provided by Stagecoach.
By car
By road, access is via minor roads from the A6 (M6). The nearest public car park is 1.5 km south west of the reserve on the road from Silverdale to Red Bridge village.
On foot
Silverdale is at the northern end of the Lancashire Coastal Way
Accommodation
There are a number of camping and caravan sites within 3 km of the reserve. Hotels and hostelries can be found in local villages and the town of Carnforth, 6 km to the south.
Facilities
The nearest toilet and refreshment facilities are in local towns and villages.
There are waymarked trails through the reserve and a number of public footpaths. There are signs and interpretation panels, and leaflets are available on site.
What to see
Limestone pavement: a significant proportion of the reserve is covered by limestone pavement, laid down in warm Carboniferous seas around 300 million years ago. The pavement was smoothed by glacial action during the last ice age and later cleared of glacial debris by rainfall. Over the years rainwater has weathered the pavement to create a number of characteristic features. Isolated blocks called clints are separated by deep fissures (grikes) which are fed rainwater by gutter-like runnels. Solution cups - isolated hollows of varying sizes - are found on the surface of the clints.
The shaded humid conditions in the deeper grikes resemble a woodland floor habitat. These crevices are home to plants such as the hard shield fern, herb Robert, tutsan and the rare ridged buckler fern, limestone fern and dark-red helleborine.
There are many dwarf yew, elm, rowan and hazel trees on the pavement. Their roots have been restricted by the limestone, resulting in stunted growth.
Woodland: rich mixed woodland dominated by yew, oak and ash surrounds the pavement and there is a dense underwood of hazel, spindle, dogwood and guelder rose. The woodland at Gait Barrows is one of the best sites in the country for fungi.
Haws Water: a lake with a rich variety of plants growing on its banks including bird's-eye primrose, fragrant orchid and black bog-rush. The green tiger beetle makes its nests in the loose lake-side soil.
Little Haws Water: this lake is surrounded by alder woods and supports a large population yellow water lilies. It is also a breeding site for brown hawker and migrant hawker dragonfly, and the azure damselfly.
Haws Water Moss: east of Haws Water, this is an area of deep peat and marl sediments where Natural England has planted an area of reedbeds. The beds have attracted birds such as the marsh harrier, bittern and bearded tit, and moths such as the silky wainscot.
