__NOTOC__ Barelees Pond is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

, England. The site is a

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gl ...

, a deep

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or Artificiality, artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% Aquatic plant, emergent vegetation helps in disting ...

formed in the void remaining after a submerged glacial calf block melted. Barelees Pond is illustrative of vegetative habitat evolution as peat sediment gradually fills the pond.

Location and natural features

Barelees Pond is situated in the

north-east of England In modern contexts Northumbria usually refers to the region of England between the Tees and Tweed, including the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham, but may also be taken to be synonymous with North East England. The area corre ...

, immediately south of the

Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands". Th ...

in the county of

, some south-east of the town of

Cornhill-on-Tweed Cornhill-on-Tweed is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England about to the east of Coldstream, Scotland. The hamlets of West Learmouth and East Learmouth are located to the south and west of the village respectively. Histo ...

. The pond lies within mildly undulating terrain circa above sea level, and is oval in shape, some north to south and east-west. An island has formed to occupy much of the south and midsections of the pond, fringed at the south by a moat of water, the substantial remains of the pond lying to the north end. The local area has a number of other kettle hole ponds; a second, Campfield Kettle Hole, lies west of Barelees.

Vegetation

Within the perimeter of the island is a carr woodland - in part a

quaking bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

floating on the pond - supporting

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

(''Betula sp.'') with a carpet of bog mosses including ''

Sphagnum palustre ''Sphagnum palustre'' (Syn. ''Sphagnum cymbifolium''), the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus ''Sphagnum'', in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the ...

'' and '' Sphagnum recurvum''. On this are found cotton-grasses such as ''

Eriophorum angustifolium ''Eriophorum angustifolium'', commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Northern Europe, it grows on peat or acidic s ...

'' and '' E. vaginatum'', with marsh cinquefoil ('' Potentilla palustris'') and bogbean (''

Menyanthes trifoliata ''Menyanthes'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species ''Menyanthes trifoliata''. The North American form is often referred to as ''M. trifoliata'' var. ''minor'' Michx. It is know ...

''). The distinct stable central areas of the island supports Scot's pine (''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and oran ...

'') and a ground flora of ling (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

'') and cross-leaved heath (''

Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe ...

''). A 2009 survey found lichen (''

Caloplaca luteoalba ''Caloplaca'' is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, gold lichens, "ora ...

'') on the birch. The perimeter of the island supports

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

(''Salix spp.''), marsh marigold (''

Caltha palustris ''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flo ...

'') and bittersweet (''

Solanum dulcamara ''Solanum dulcamara'' is a species of vine in the genus ''Solanum'' (which also includes the potato and the tomato) of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulci ...

''). The perimeter of the pond supports soft rush (''

Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to ''Juncus interior''. Distribution '' ...

''), greater pond sedge (''

Carex riparia ''Carex riparia'', the greater pond sedge, is a species of sedge found across Europe and Asia. It grows in a variety of wet habitats, and can be a dominant species in some swamps. It is Britain's largest ''Carex'', growing up to tall, with gla ...

'') and water plantain (''

Alisma plantago-aquatica ''Alisma plantago-aquatica'', also known as European water-plantain, common water-plantain or mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering aquatic plant widespread across most of Europe and Asia, and apparently spread elsewhere in both the Old and Ne ...

''). The perimeter bank supports elder (''

Sambucus nigra ''Sambucus nigra'' is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, European black elderberry and tramman (Isl ...

''), hawthorn (''

Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in ...

''), wild rose ('' Rosa sp.''), rosebay willow herb ('' Epilobium angustifolium'') and common nettle (''

Urtica dioica ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Ori ...

''). The condition of the geological units of Barelees Pond was judged to be favourable in 2009.

References

External links

Natural England
SSSI record for Barelees Pond {{Authority control Ponds of Europe Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Northumberland Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1959

Location and natural features

Vegetation

See also

References

External links