Campfield Kettle Hole
Campfield Kettle Hole is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest in north Northumberland, England. The site is thought to be the remains of a kettle hole, a pond formed in the void remaining after a submerged glacial calf block melted. In contemporary times Campfield Kettle Hole is a mix of bog and pond.
Location and natural features
Campfield Kettle Hole is situated in the north-east of England, immediately south of the Anglo-Scottish border in the county of Northumberland, some south of the town of Cornhill-on-Tweed. The pond lies at above sea level within mildly undulating terrain, and is some north-south and east-west. The western end is a permanent pond; the eastern-end is prone to occasional flooding; the remainder of the pond has become peat-filled.The local area has a number of other kettle hole ponds; a second, Barelees Pond, lies east of Campfield.
Vegetation
The kettle hole has deep waterlogged peat soils supporting a carr woodland of birch with Scot’s pine. The woodland floor has bog-mosses, and hare’s-tail cotton grass with purple moor-grass and wavy hair-grass.The western end of the pond is fringed with yellow iris, water plantain and willow. The perimeter has yellow iris and reed canary-grass. The uncommon beetle Agabus uliginosus dispar has been recorded from the wetter areas of the site.
The condition of Campfield Kettle Hole was judged to be unfavourable-recovering in 2013, with previous concerns about tree encroachment settled.