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4 North Pennines
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The North Pennines form a distinctive block of high, exposed moorland and sheltered lowland dales. The variety of rocks and soils, plus rainfall and altitude, make the North Pennines unique. This, coupled with extensive human activity over thousands of years, has created the expansive moorlands, grasslands and flower-rich meadows we see today. Upland bogs blanket the open moorland and mosaics of heather, cotton-grass, bilberry, bracken and acid grassland cover much of the area. These attract large numbers of insects together with waders and birds of prey.
The North Pennines have many impressive features that result from the varied geology of the area. The Whin Sill, a resistant volcanic rock, is exposed to form dramatic features at High Cup Nick, Cauldron Snout and High Force, the largest waterfall in England. Attractive river gorges, shakeholes, caves and pavements form where limestone outcrops, and localised sugar limestone supports specialised plant communities. The area's rich mining heritage stems from veins of lead and zinc which have been deposited in fissures in the limestone.
In contrast to the large expanses of upland moorland, the semi-improved pastures and hay meadows of the low-lying dales contain flower-rich meadows with attract snipe, redshank, curlew and lapwing. Alder, ash and oak woodland are found in sheltered areas, gorges and valley sides.
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Natural Area profile available - Size 2.72 Mb
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