North Pennines
Encyclopedia
The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range
of hills which runs north-south through northern England
. It lies between Carlisle
to the west and Darlington
to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley
and to the south by the Stainmore
Gap.
in 1988 for its moorland
scenery, the product of centuries of farming and leadmining. At almost 2000 square kilometres (772.2 sq mi) it is the second largest of the 49 AONBs in the United Kingdom.
The landscape of the North Pennines AONB is one of open heather moors between deep dales, upland rivers, hay meadows and stone-built villages, some of which contain the legacies of a mining and industrial past. The area shares a boundary with the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the south and extends as far as the Tyne Valley, just south of Hadrian's Wall
in the north.
In the North Pennines are: 40% of the UK's upland hay meadows; 30% of England's upland heathland and 27% of its blanket bog
; 80% of England's Black Grouse
; Short-eared Owl
, Ring Ouzel
, Common Snipe
and Common Redshank
; 36% of the AONB designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest; Red squirrel
s, otter
s and rare arctic alpine plants; 22,000 pairs of breeding waders and England's biggest waterfall - High Force
.
One of the many walking routes in the North Pennines is Isaac's Tea Trail is a circular route of 58 kilometres (36 mi) around the area, running from Ninebanks
via Allendale
, Nenthead
and Alston
. In addition to this, a large section of the Pennine Way
falls in the AONB, including one of the most celebrated stretches through Teesdale
, a lush valley with dramatic river scenery including the twin attractions of High Force and Cauldron Snout
.
The AONB is notable for rare flora and fauna, including wild alpine plants not found elsewhere in Britain. It is also home to red squirrels and diverse birds of prey. The impressive landscape of the North Pennines - from High Force on the River Tees to the sweeping valley of High Cup Gill above Dufton
- are the product of millions of years of geological processes. The worldwide significance of the geology found in the area was recognised in 2003 when the AONB became Britain's first European Geopark. A year later the area become one of the founding members of the UNESCO
-assisted Global Geopark family. Geoparks are areas with outstanding geological heritage where this is being used to support sustainable development.
Another of the North Pennines' oddities is that it is home to England's only named wind, the Helm Wind
. It has caught out many walkers traversing the plateaux around Cross Fell
, the Eden Valley
fellside, and the valleys in between Alston
and Dufton.
The great English poet W. H. Auden
spent much time in this area and some forty poems and two plays are set here. He referred to the region as his "Mutterland", his "great good place", and equated it with his idea of Eden. Scores of Pennine place-names are found in his work, including Cauldron Snout
and Rookhope
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
of hills which runs north-south through northern 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...
. It lies between Carlisle
City of Carlisle
The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...
to the west and Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
and to the south by the Stainmore
Stainmore
Stainmore is a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South Stainmore. It has a population of 253.- Geography :...
Gap.
Overview
The North Pennines was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
in 1988 for its moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
scenery, the product of centuries of farming and leadmining. At almost 2000 square kilometres (772.2 sq mi) it is the second largest of the 49 AONBs in the United Kingdom.
The landscape of the North Pennines AONB is one of open heather moors between deep dales, upland rivers, hay meadows and stone-built villages, some of which contain the legacies of a mining and industrial past. The area shares a boundary with the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the south and extends as far as the Tyne Valley, just south of Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
in the north.
In the North Pennines are: 40% of the UK's upland hay meadows; 30% of England's upland heathland and 27% of its blanket bog
Blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
; 80% of England's Black Grouse
Black Grouse
The Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland, mostly boreal...
; Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...
, Ring Ouzel
Ring Ouzel
The Ring Ouzel is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is the mountain equivalent of the closely related Common Blackbird, and breeds in gullies, rocky areas or scree slopes....
, Common Snipe
Common Snipe
The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
and Common Redshank
Common Redshank
The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
; 36% of the AONB designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest; Red squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
s, otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
s and rare arctic alpine plants; 22,000 pairs of breeding waders and England's biggest waterfall - High Force
High Force
High Force is a waterfall on the River Tees, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, Teesdale, County Durham, England. The waterfall is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and European Geopark....
.
One of the many walking routes in the North Pennines is Isaac's Tea Trail is a circular route of 58 kilometres (36 mi) around the area, running from Ninebanks
Ninebanks
Ninebanks is a small village in south west Northumberland, England in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty north-east of Alston by road. It is noted for the early sixteenth century Ninebanks Tower, sometimes described as a pele tower, but possibly built as a watchtower...
via Allendale
Allendale, Northumberland
Allendale is a large village in south west Northumberland, England. Allendale is within the - the second largest of the 40 AONBs in England and Wales...
, Nenthead
Nenthead
The small village of Nenthead in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at 1,500 feet. It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain...
and Alston
Alston, Cumbria
Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...
. In addition to this, a large section of the Pennine Way
Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes...
falls in the AONB, including one of the most celebrated stretches through Teesdale
Teesdale
Teesdale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in England. Large parts of Teesdale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The River Tees rises below Cross Fell, the highest hill in the Pennines, and its...
, a lush valley with dramatic river scenery including the twin attractions of High Force and Cauldron Snout
Cauldron Snout
Cauldron Snout is a waterfall on the upper reaches of the River Tees in Northern England, immediately below the dam of the Cow Green Reservoir. It is well upstream of the High Force waterfall, and is on the boundary between County Durham and Cumbria, England...
.
The AONB is notable for rare flora and fauna, including wild alpine plants not found elsewhere in Britain. It is also home to red squirrels and diverse birds of prey. The impressive landscape of the North Pennines - from High Force on the River Tees to the sweeping valley of High Cup Gill above Dufton
Dufton
Dufton is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It lies in the Eden Valley and below Great Dun Fell. It is mostly around 180m above sea level. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 169....
- are the product of millions of years of geological processes. The worldwide significance of the geology found in the area was recognised in 2003 when the AONB became Britain's first European Geopark. A year later the area become one of the founding members of the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
-assisted Global Geopark family. Geoparks are areas with outstanding geological heritage where this is being used to support sustainable development.
Another of the North Pennines' oddities is that it is home to England's only named wind, the Helm Wind
Helm Wind
The Helm Wind is a named wind in Cumbria, England, a strong north-easterly wind which blows down the south-west slope of the Cross Fell escarpment. It is the only named wind in the British Isles, although many other mountain regions in Britain exhibit the same phenomenon when the weather conditions...
. It has caught out many walkers traversing the plateaux around Cross Fell
Cross Fell
Cross Fell is the highest point in the Pennine Hills of northern England and the highest point in England outside of the Lake District.The summit, at , is a stony plateau, part of a long ridge running North West to South East, which also incorporates Little Dun Fell at and Great Dun Fell at...
, the Eden Valley
River Eden, Cumbria
The River Eden is a river that flows through Cumbria, England on its way to the Solway Firth.-Course of river:The Eden rises in Black Fell Moss, Mallerstang, on the high ground between High Seat, Yorkshire Dales and Hugh Seat. Here it forms the boundary between the counties of Cumbria and North...
fellside, and the valleys in between Alston
Alston, Cumbria
Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...
and Dufton.
The great English poet W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
spent much time in this area and some forty poems and two plays are set here. He referred to the region as his "Mutterland", his "great good place", and equated it with his idea of Eden. Scores of Pennine place-names are found in his work, including Cauldron Snout
Cauldron Snout
Cauldron Snout is a waterfall on the upper reaches of the River Tees in Northern England, immediately below the dam of the Cow Green Reservoir. It is well upstream of the High Force waterfall, and is on the boundary between County Durham and Cumbria, England...
and Rookhope
Rookhope
Rookhope is village in County Durham, in England. A former lead and fluorspar mining community, it first existed as a group of cattle farms in the 13th Century. It is situated in the Pennines to the north of Weardale. W. H...