Kelloe Plantation

Green space providing a park area on Woodland Crescent, Kelloe.

Developed by EDF and commissioned in 2008. The small wind farm has 4 turbines that have a total capacity of 5.2 MW.

The bridleway, presumably an old industrial / mining route, connects Old Quarrington with Quarrington Hill. The route is in use a s a bridleway which has replaced another bridleway route running above to the left. That is now a private road used for quarry access by the Tarmac company. OS mapping has not, (January 2022), caught up with the changed route situation; an explanation is given here: Link .

This might be the remains of an engine house mentioned in the County Durham leaflet about the Crow Trees Reserve but it's made largely from coarse concrete and the document talks of, "using stonework". Whatever the case, it's clearly an old industrial feature, presumably from coal mining or earlier quarrying operations. Quarrying still goes on nearby; distantly, to the right of the ruin, there's an active quarry in view.

The B6291 approaching Quarrington Hill from the south-west where there's a chicane and a priority arrangement for traffic entering and leaving the village.

On the site of a former colliery, closed late 19th century, that supplied coal to local iron works at Cornforth.

Removal of the coal slurry waste from the bottom of Kelloe Valley. During coal mining operations prior to 1983 at East Hetton Colliery, a dam had been constructed across the valley to retain and store the coal slurry waste that was produced from the coal washing plant. The reclamation works required the removal of the slurry from the valley, transporting it, and mixing it with the red shale of the pit heap to remodel the contours of the existing landscape. NZ3437 : East Hetton Colliery Land Reclamation, Co. Durham NZ3436 : East Hetton Colliery Land Reclamation, Co. Durham

Progress photograph of land reclamation works in May 1991. The image shows the removal of the coal slurry from the Kelloe Valley. The slurry coal waste fill was very unstable and contained pockets of water which if disturbed could result in the sudden collapse of the vertical face of the slurry. A crust would form on the top surface of the slurry and it would appear to be solid, yet beneath it was like a blancmange unable to support construction plant or persons walking on it. Temporary shale berms or temporary access roads had to be constructed to allow plant and equipment to access the slurry and remove it. NZ3437 : East Hetton Colliery Land Reclamation, Co. Durham NZ3536 : East Hetton Colliery Land Reclamation, Co. Durham

A construction progress photograph taken of the land reclamation works during November 1990. Shale is being transported and deposited by articulated dump truck and spread by dozer during fill operations to remodel the contours of the former pit heap at East Hetton Colliery. An excavator can be seen on the top of the pit heap excavating and loading shale into the dump trucks. NZ3436 : East Hetton Colliery Land Reclamation, Co. Durham NZ3536 : East Hetton Colliery Land Reclamation, Co. Durham

Former mining/pit workings turned into woodland and nature reserves.

A mass of red berries meant there was plenty of bird life including Fieldfares, Redwing, Chaffinch and Bull finches.