This steep-sided gill features typical North Pennines habitats, with heather and bilberry slopes, flower-rich verges and an acidic wetland.

Seasonal highlights

This site is at its best during spring and summer. From April, a flurry of activity begins, with bilberry bumblebee queens and violet oil beetles found on flower-rich grassland while green tiger beetles can be seen basking and hunting on sandy areas. During summer the site is alive with black darters emerging from the wetland, dark green fritillaries sheltering in sunny hollows and Hebrew character and light knot grass moth caterpillars feeding on the heath.

• Car parking: lay-by, B6278, Eggleston, County Durham, DL13 2TA
• Grid reference: NY 99697 30665
• Survey route length: 1 mile
• Terrain: the full route is on a rough track on level ground