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Geltsdale RSPB reserve

Moorlands of EnglandNature reserves in CumbriaRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England
Howgill Beck and Stagsike, Geltsdale, Cumbria
Howgill Beck and Stagsike, Geltsdale, Cumbria

Geltsdale RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in Geltsdale, Cumbria, England. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has managed land at Geltsdale since the 1970s, protecting upland birds such as the hen harrier and black grouse. In 2025 the RSPB announced a major expansion of the reserve. The reserve is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) called Geltsdale & Glendue Fells. Along with other SSSIs in the North Pennines, it is designated a Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive. The reserve is managed within the context of a commercial hill farm.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Geltsdale RSPB reserve (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geltsdale RSPB reserve
Stagsike Trail,

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Wikipedia: Geltsdale RSPB reserveContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 54.91929 ° E -2.61621 °
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Stagsike Trail

Stagsike Trail
CA8 2PW , Midgeholme
England, United Kingdom
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Howgill Beck and Stagsike, Geltsdale, Cumbria
Howgill Beck and Stagsike, Geltsdale, Cumbria
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Midgeholme Coalfield

The Midgeholme Coalfield is a coalfield in Midgeholme, on the border of Cumbria with Northumberland in northern England. It is the largest of a series of small coalfields along the south side of the Tyne Valley and which are intermediate between the Northumberland and Durham Coalfields to the east and the Cumberland Coalfield to the west. Like the other small coalfields to its east, this small outlier of the Coal Measures at Midgeholme occurs on the Stublick-Ninety Fathom Fault System, a zone of faults defining the northern edge of the Alston Block otherwise known as the North Pennines. It is recorded that coal was being mined at Midgeholme in the early seventeenth century. In the 1830s, coal trains were being hauled from Midgeholme Colliery along the Brampton Railway by Stephenson's Rocket. The early workings have left a legacy of spoil heaps, bell pits, shafts and adits. There is no current coal production. However in January 2014, Northumberland County Council gave planning permission for the open-cast extraction of 37,000 tonnes of coal at Halton Lea Gate. This may open the way for other applications to mine the coalfield. In 1990 a proposal to mine reserves of 60,000 tonnes of good-quality coal at Lambley, Northumberland was rejected, but the prospect for a successful application has now changed, since the Planning Inspector allowed the development to proceed at Halton Lea Gate on appeal. The following coal seams are recognised from the Pennine Lower Coal Measures within this coalfield. The list is organised stratigraphically, with the uppermost seam first: Bounder Craignook Upper Craignook Lower Little Threequarters Half Threequarters Quarter Wellsyke High Main Slag Low Main Ganister Clay (Kellah) Gubeon