Its name comes from the Havannah drift mine and the three slag heaps that used to dominate the site. Much of the landscape you can see today can be related to the sites’ industrial past, such as coal storage, a railway and grazing for pit ponies. Many of the wet areas are the result of subsidence associated with mining activity. Havannah has one of the few areas of lowland heath found within the Newcastle area.
History
The Havannah drift mine was owned and operated by the National Coal Board. It opened in 1950 and was worked until 1977. At the height of its production it employed 870 people above and below ground. Following its closure it was left derelict until a Derelict Land Grant from the Department of Environment was given to help create a green open space for public use. In June 1994, Havannah and the Three Hills Plantation and picnic site were handed to Newcastle City Council following the reclamation. Later work included the creation of a bridleway, car park, footpaths, secure gates, fencing, new wetland sites and woodland management schemes. The site was to be used for informal recreation such as walking, nature study, dog walking and horse riding.
Wildlife
The site has around 40 hectares of varied habitat including woodlands, meadows, scrub, grazed fields, marsh and several ponds. It contains several significant populations of plants and animals that are of local, regional and national importance. These include great crested newts and the dingy skipper butterfly as well as a colony of red squirrels. This led to the site being designated a Site of Nature Conservation Interest. In 1998 Havannah was also designated a Local Nature Reserve. What makes Havannah/Three Hills special is its very high biodiversity (variety of life.) This is due to the variety of habitats and the presence of some fairly unusual post-industrial environmental conditions.
Approaching the cache
The cache itself is a regular-sized container (plenty of room for swaps and trackables!) in a wooded area, so GPS coverage could be patchy. Be prepared for muddy paths if it has been wet recently. The wood is criss-crossed with paths, so there are a number of ways to approach the site. Take the time to explore if you can!
Our recommended approach (which takes in more of the nature reserve), means parking just under a mile away in the Havannah Reserve car park. Alternatively you can park a bit closer in the Three Hills car park, which puts you straight into the woodland area. Both offer plenty of free parking.
Our little boys enjoyed wandering through "the deep dark wood" while we were setting this cache, and the youngest thought he saw a Gruffalo!
Acknowledgments
Thanks go to the Newcastle City Council 'Rangers' for their permission and assistance in letting us place caches in this site.