Highlights

Bee, northern marsh, common spotted and pyramidal orchid. Raven, treecreeper, long tailed tit. Geological exposures, industrial archaeology.

Overview

Quarrying started on site in the 1600s with the limestone initially being used for building and agriculture. Latterly the quarried rock was used in the local steel making industry, but quarrying ceased in 1930. Clints Quarry has been left to nature for the last 75 years and is now a fascinating place not only for wildlife, but also for geology and industrial archaeology. From the entrance, spoil heaps with trackways in between radiate out to a terrace, above which the quarry face rises up to 20 metres in places. 

What to see

Damp conditions between the spoil heaps are ideal for northern marsh and common spotted orchid, whilst the drier slopes of the heaps have been colonised by wild strawberry, ox-eye daisy, centaury, mouse-eared hawkweed, bird's-foot trefoil and knapweed. Bee and pyramidal orchids are also found here. The quarry provides a sheltered site for butterflies and gatekeeper, common blue, ringlet, orange tip and meadow brown are regularly seen.

There are four ponds on the nature reserve that have palmate newt, stickleback and pond snail. Frogs and toads also breed. Scrub and trees are becoming established in the quarry and work is ongoing to maintain the open nature of the site and the species-rich grassland. Rabbits have helped maintain the grassland in the past but their numbers have declined more recently. The eastern part of the nature reserve is already wooded providing habitat for a range of typical woodland birds. There is a large lime-kiln in the woodland near the southern boundary of the nature reserve.

Recent History

The nature reserve was purchased from British Steel and Lord Egremont in 1984.