It is situated on the eastern outskirts of Ferryhill, between the town and the East Coast Main Line railway.

Woodland and calcareous grassland cover the steep slopes on the western side of the site, where there is also a disused quarry.

The site's importance lies mainly in its areas of open water and fen vegetation, which are scarce habitats in lowland County Durham.

There is also a small area of equally scarce magnesian limestone grassland, in which blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, and glaucous sedge, Carex flacca, are dominant.

[1] The site adjoins the Ferryhill Carrs Local Nature Reserve, which extends to the north, alongside the railway line.