National Character Area 4 - Cheviots : Key Characteristics

A smooth, sinuous cluster of rounded hills of volcanic origin forming a wild, open windswept landscape dominated by broad moorland horizons and almost totally devoid of settlement.

Extensive rolling plateaux of semi-natural grass moor and heather moorland; rounded hill tops characterised by mixed areas of heathland, blanket bog and extensive white grassland interrupted by distinctive tors.

Deep ravines and rocky outcrops with dramatic scree slopes on the northern flanks of the hills supporting rare Arctic–alpine flora; distinctive features of glacial erosion including meltwater channels and ice-gouged hollows.

Distinctive white-faced Cheviot sheep, Northumberland Blackface sheep and wild goats graze the moorland plateaux, which are managed as grouse moors.

Largely treeless slopes with broadleaved woodland confined to the narrow valleys but with a diminishing number of large conifer plantations on the upper slopes and smaller blocks of conifers planted as shelterbelts and for military training purposes in the south of the NCA.

Open moorlands and ‘white lands’ of the upper slopes contrast with greener, more productive pastures and meadows on the lower slopes and in the valleys.

Large regular fields enclosed by drystone walls or dykes or new post and wire fencing on higher ground, with smaller in-bye fields enclosed by stone walls, fencing and some hedgerows in the valley bottoms, grazed by sheep, and beef cattle on the more sheltered lower ground.

Steep-sided valleys with fast-flowing burns radiating from the Cheviots, supporting relict semi-natural broadleaved woodland, gorse scrub, wet flushes and species-rich meadows.

Dispersed farmsteads and small hamlets, often incorporating older fortified buildings due to centuries of border conflict, nestle in the sheltered valleys, with larger hamlets in the foothills where the valleys meet the lowlands. Traditional buildings are commonly of sandstone and slate but clay pantile roofs are a distinctive feature of the northern valleys.

Extensive tracts of well-preserved, highly visible and buried prehistoric landscapes with hill forts, settlements and prehistoric field systems, and widespread remains from the medieval period.

Ancient tracks and drove roads cross the Cheviots, now used by the numerous visitors to the Northumberland National Park.

A sense of isolation and wilderness is maintained by the absence of settlements and cross-border roads through the Cheviots, with dark night skies and high levels of tranquillity, despite periodic disturbance associated with military training in the south of the NCA.