List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Tyne and Wear

There are 36 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. In England, the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England

Natural England

Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...

, which chooses sites because of their flora

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

, fauna

Fauna

Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

, geological

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

or physiographical features. Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature

English Nature

English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...

in October 2006 when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency

Countryside Agency

The Countryside Agency in England was a statutory body set up in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The Agency was formed by merging the Countryside Commission and the Rural Development Commission...

and the Rural Development Service

Rural Development Service

The Rural Development Service was formerly part of the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It ceased to exist on 1 October 2006 following the creation of Natural England.- History :...

. Natural England, like its predecessor, uses the 1974-1996 county system

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and...

with each area being called an Area of Search

Area of Search

Areas of Search are geographical areas used in the selection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. In England these are largely based on the 1974–1996 administrative counties...

.

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

is made up of five administrative local authorities consisting mainly of the two largest cities in the region: Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Sunderland, thus making it the sixth largest conurbation in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Tyne and Wear shares its borders with Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

and County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, to the north and south respectively.

List of sites

Big Waters
Boldon Pastures
Brenkley Meadows
Claxheugh Rock And Ford Limestone Quarry
Cleadon Hill
Dawson's Plantation Quarry
Durham Coast
Fulwell And Carley Hill Quarries
Gibside
Gibside
Gibside is a country estate near Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear, North East England that was previously owned by the Bowes-Lyon family. It is now a National Trust property. The main house on the estate is now a shell, although the property is most famous for its chapel...
Gilleylaw Quarry
Gosforth Park
Gosforth Park
Gosforth Park is a park north of Gosforth in the borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It houses Newcastle Racecourse, a Marriott hotel, two golf courses, a garden centre and a football centre....
Hallow Hill
Harton Down Hill
Hastings Hill
Herrington Hill
Herrington Hill
Herrington Hill is a hill on the east side of Lavoisier Island, Biscoe Islands, about 5 nautical miles southward of Benedict Point. Mapped from air photos taken by Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition . Named by United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee for Lovic P...
Hetton Bogs
High Haining Hill
High Moorsley
High Moorsley
High Moorsley is a small village south-west of Hetton-le-Hole in the City of Sunderland, north east England.It is the site of the first weather radar system in the north-east of England, officially opened in July 2009....
Humbledon Hill Quarry
Hylton Castle Cutting
Joe's Pond
Joe's Pond
-Overview:Joe's Pond is a four hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest that lies to the east of, and adjacent to, the Rainton Meadows nature reserve. It was originally notified, as Nicholson’s Pond, in 1968...
Lower Derwent Meadows
Moorsley Banks
Northumberland Shore
Pockerley Farm Pond
Prestwick Carr
Prestwick Carr
Prestwick Carr is an area of meadow and farmland and a Site of Special Scientific Interest known for its bird of prey population, it is situated east of Ponteland in Northumberland, North England.- References :*...
Ridley Gill
Ryton Willows
Ryton, Tyne and Wear
Ryton is a semi-rural small town near the western border of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent town in County Durham it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974. It has a population of 15,742.- Location :Ryton lies...

,
Shibdon Pond
South Hylton Pasture
Strother Hills
Thornley Wood
Tunstall Hills And Ryhope Cutting
Tynemouth To Seaton Sluice
Wear River Bank
West Farm Meadow, Boldon

List of sites

See also