About the Catchment
Haltwhistle, Northumberland.. 'the centre of Britain'
The Haltwhistle Burn catchment covers an area of approximately 42km2 and is predominantly rural. Caw Burn and Pont Gallon Burn rise in the north, flow south west towards their confluence, forming Haltwhistle Burn. The Burn then continues south over farmland, past Hadrian's Wall and into a gorge. From here the Burn flows into Haltwhistle, a small town within Northumberland which is a natural and cultural heritage hotspot. The watercourse continues south through the 'Townfoot' area, passes through a culvert (beneath the B6322 road) and out towards it's confluence with the South Tyne River. Due to the elongated shape and steepness of this catchment, it responds rapidly during rainfall events.
Haltwhistle Burn and it's tributaries are a massive asset to the Haltwhistle area, providing benefits to locals, tourists, farmers, wildlife and so on. Although the catchment itself is failing to achieve a 'good ecological status' under the Water Framework Directive assessment criteria, the catchment suffers from a range of issues, including flood risk, bank erosion, sediment build up (causing blackages within culverts) and poor water quality.
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