Gosforth Park Nature Reserve

Gosforth Park Nature Reserve
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
The lake on the reserve
Nearest city	Newcastle upon Tyne
Coordinates	55°01′49″N 1°36′11″W / 55.0304°N 1.6031°W / 55.0304; -1.6031Coordinates: 55°01′49″N 1°36′11″W / 55.0304°N 1.6031°W / 55.0304; -1.6031
Area	65 ha (160 acres)
Operator	Natural History Society of Northumbria
Website	http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/resources/gosforth-park-nature-reserve/

Gosforth Park Nature Reserve is a wildlife haven in Tyne and Wear, England. It includes a lake and woodland, and is managed by the Natural History Society of Northumbria. It is part of Gosforth Park, the old estate of Gosforth House.

In medieval times, what is now Gosforth Park Nature Reserve would have been agricultural land, there is some remaining evidence of ridge and furrow. The general habitat in the area would have been heathland, hence the name of the nearby village of West Moor and the nearby track called Heathery Lane. When the Brandling family took over the land and built their large estate house they had the surrounding area landscaped, as was the fashion of the day. This included planting new woodland and creating a new lake for boating and fishing. From historic maps it appears that the lake was created in the period 1810–1820 and that most of the woodland was planted around the mid-19th century.

The Brandling family fell on hard times and sold off the estate towards the end of the 19th century and from that period onwards nature began to take over. In 1924 in order to prevent hunting and shooting of the wildlife Mr W. E. Beck leased the shooting rights for the lake and surrounding woodland. He was a member of the Natural History Society of Northumbria and in 1929, in declining health, he passed his rights to the trustees of the Society. Since that time the Society has managed this area for the benefit of wildlife.

Gosforth Park Nature Reserve contains an important wetland, which is dominated by Phragmites reeds and open water and surrounded by wet carr woodland. These wetland habitats support breeding bird species such as reed warbler, water rail, reed bunting, sedge warbler, common tern and little grebe and in the winter birds such as bittern, kingfisher, wigeon, teal and shoveler. Aquatic mammals such as otter and water shrew are also present. England's second largest colony of coralroot orchid is also found here.