10 - North Pennines : Analysis: Landscape Attributes & Opportunities

Analysis supporting Statements of Environmental Opportunity

The following analysis section focuses on the landscape attributes and opportunities for this NCA.

Further analysis on ecosytem services for this NCA is contained in the Analysis: Ecosytem Services section.

Landscape attributes

Underlying geology of international interest gives rise to an upland landscape of open moorland ridges divided by broad pastoral dales, each with its own distinctive character; strong landform of flat hilltops, stepped profiles to valleys, with igneous intrusions of dolerite (Whin Sill) forming striking outcrops and waterfalls.

Justification for selection:

• Massive Alston Block forms high summits of Mickle Fell, Knock Fell, Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell, up to 893 m in height, with a dramatic scarp along the west boundary, giving panoramic views out over the Eden valley to the west.
• Layers of hard sandstones give rise to flat topped hills, with the Yoredale series of limestones, sandstones and shales forming stepped profiles to valley sides.
• Intrusions of dolerite (Whin Sill) create outcrops with spectacular waterfalls as at High Force, Low Force and Cauldron Snout.
• Intrusions of hot magma metamorphosed adjacent limestone to form coarse-grained marble and ‘sugar limestone’.
• Extensive cave systems, some designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
• World class geological interest recognised through UNESCO European and Global Geopark status.

Remote and extensive moorlands of blanket bog, heathland and acidic grassland, managed for sheep and grouse, supporting internationally important moorland habitats, including arctic-alpine communities.

Justification for selection:

• Over 98,000 ha of moorland of international significance, designated as Special Protection Area for its bird populations, notably merlin, red grouse, peregrine, golden plover, dunlin and curlew.
• Over 90,000 ha of moorland of international significance, designated as Special Area of Conservation for the mosaics of habitats including blanket bog, wet and dry heath, juniper scrub, calcareous grassland, and arctic-alpine flora.
• Moorlands provide many benefits including inspirational experience, tranquillity, opportunities for quiet recreation, biodiversity interest, water capture and flow regulation, as well as supporting livestock and grouse shooting.

Long tradition of livestock rearing, previously combined with mining, giving rise to enclosed pastures and meadows within the dales, the strong field patterns defined by drystone walls, with small villages and dispersed farmsteads.

Justification for selection:

• The miner – farmer economy from the 16th to the 19th centuries has left a particularly strong pattern of smallholdings with field barns and enclosed meadows and pastures in the dales, supported by common grazing on the moorlands.
• Important role in providing hardy sheep and cattle.

Significant grassland habitats including limestone grasslands, upland hay meadows, and calamarian grasslands on mining spoil.

Justification for selection:

• 40 per cent of England’s upland hay meadows are found here, with northern species such as woody crane’s bill, globeflower and melancholy thistle.
• The sugar limestones of upper Teesdale, of international importance, support arctic/alpine species, including Teesdale violet and spring gentian.
• Calamarian grasslands support specialised plant communities including spring sandwort, alpine pennycress and thrift, and are of European significance.
• Over 1,600 ha of upland calcareous grassland.
• Species-rich grasslands are often found along road and track verges.

Several major rivers flow outwards from the upland block down the wide dales, with a range of freshwater habitats, offering recreation as well as supplying water for domestic and industrial use downstream.

Justification for selection:

• Major rivers include the South Tyne, the West and East Allen, the Wear and the Tees.
• Water quality is generally good, and rivers and streams follow largely natural courses with a range of features including riffles, shingle banks and pools.
• Watercourses support otter, water vole, goosander and dipper, with populations of Atlantic salmon, brown trout and bullhead.
• Reservoirs include Cow Green, Derwent, Selset and Grassholme.
• Watercourses and reservoirs provide particularly good environments for quiet enjoyment, sailing, canoeing, angling, and wildlife watching.

A very tranquil landscape with a sense of remoteness, with a low population, slow rate of change, and extensive open moorlands with panoramic views and a unique wilderness quality, providing inspirational recreational experiences.

Justification for selection:

• The CPRE map of tranquillity shows that much of the area is generally undisturbed and very tranquil, with lower levels only occurring along the main transport routes, notably along the A66.
• Extensive stretches of open moorlands and rough grazing with a lack of built structures contributes to a strong sense pf remoteness and wilderness.
• Population of less than 14,000, with a settlement pattern of dispersed farmsteads on moorland fringes and in the upper dales, small villages, estates and a few small towns.
• Long views across moorlands, out over adjacent low lying areas, and across broad dales.

Use of local stone for building and walling gives a strong unity and vernacular character to villages, farmsteads and field barns, with distinctive white-washed buildings of the Raby estate in Teesdale.

Justification for selection:

• Strong patterns of enclosures within dales, much of it established through the 16th century farmer – miner economy.
• Use of local stone creates strong visual cohesion and revealing links with underlying geology.
• Dispersed farmsteads and villages, along with planned mining villages and agricultural estates.

Semi-natural woodland limited to river and stream banks, with copses around farmsteads, with fragments of juniper scrub and some large conifer plantations on the moorland fringes.

Justification for selection:

• Woodlands over 2 ha cover 5.6 per cent of the area.
• Ancient semi-natural woodlands cover 1,074 ha, with another 838 ha planted with non-native species.
• Over 3,000 ha of broadleaved woodland, including good examples of upland ash, upland oak and wet woodlands, but these are often small and fragmented.
• Juniper scrub occurs on moorland fringes and on gill sides, with more extensive stands in upper Teesdale.
• 6,663 ha of conifer plantations, with some forests re-structured, but others still in need of re-design and restructuring to be in sympathy with landscape and improve biodiversity value.

A rich cultural history, ranging from prehistoric settlement to the industrial period with mining of lead ore and other minerals, with mines, leats, hushings, quarries and other features still evident, along with historic buildings such as non-conformist chapels, and old routes following the dales and crossing the higher land.

Justification for selection:

• Visible evidence of bronze-age to Romano-British burial mounds and field systems on moorlands.
• Extensive exploitation from medieval period onwards of the many mineral veins, including lead, iron, zinc and copper ores, fluorite and barytes, resulting in many features, structures and buildings within the landscape, especially in Weardale.
• Planned estates such as at Allenheads and Nenthead for workers.
• 214 scheduled monuments, including extensive areas of historic landscapes.
• 1,270 listed buildings.

The distinctive landscape with its many natural features, widespread evidence of historic activity, contained settlements with a high level of tranquillity, dark skies at night and sense of remoteness, all provide a high quality environment for quiet enjoyment and recreation.

Justification for selection:

• 60 per cent of the area is open access land.
• The Pennine Way and the Pennine Bridleway National Trails run north-south through the area, and the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail cuts across in the north.
• National Nature Reserves provide 8,739 ha of accessible land.
• Woods for people provide 2,676 ha of woodland available for quiet recreation.
• Historic features and sites, such as Kilhope, and geological features, such as High Force, are focal points for visitors.
• Lack of urban and industrial development results in dark skies and high levels of tranquillity.

Landscape opportunities

• Protect the strong sense of wildness, remoteness and tranquillity on the moorlands with their lack of man-made infrastructure (such as tracks, fences) discouraging sources of disturbance and limiting inappropriate development.
• Protect and enhance the contrasts between the remote moorlands, moorland fringes and the more settled and enclosed pastoral dales, with their historic settlement patterns of small villages and dispersed farmsteads.
• Protect, conserve and manage the extensive moorlands by encouraging sustainable mixed livestock farming and grouse moor management to maintain and enhance their international biodiversity interest, including blanket bog, mires, wet and dry heath, and the populations of birds, such as black grouse, raptors and waders.
• Protect and manage the rare arctic-alpine communities, the montane heath and the species-rich grasslands of the sugar limestone.
• Restore areas of bare and degraded peat, by blocking grips and managing through careful grazing and burning regimes, to encourage full vegetative cover and active peat formation.
• Restore or create small areas of open woodland and scrub on moorland fringes and in gills, in particular to encourage black grouse.
• Manage calcareous grasslands through responsive grazing regimes to sustain and enhance their biodiversity interest.
• Encourage the management of pastures within the dales to create a patchwork and diversity of grassland types, including rushy pastures, to provide feeding, roosting and breeding places for birds.
• Encourage and support the agricultural practice of hay making, to maintain and enhance the species-rich meadows, and ensure that adjacent land management does not adversely impact on their interest.
• Restore and expand species-rich pastures and hay meadows, identifying seed sources and continuing to research and develop ways of enhancing meadows.
• Manage road and track verges to form a network between semi-natural habitats and enable species movement, and to enhance the visitor experience.
• Manage watercourses and freshwater habitats to create a range of conditions to encourage fish and invertebrate populations whilst also finding suitable locations to provide for recreation such as canoeing, angling and wildlife watching.
• Protect existing broadleaved woodlands and bring them into effective management, and encourage natural regeneration of native broadleaved species by fencing to prevent grazing, to make them resilient and ensure their long-term survival.
• Extend and buffer existing woodlands, especially ancient woodlands, and seek opportunities and to create new small woodlands, wood pastures and scrub in suitable locations such as on steep slopes, gill sides and valleys, linking them with other semi-natural habitats where possible.
• Encourage the further restructuring of conifer forests to ensure that woodlands make a more positive contribution to the landscape, through re-shaping geometric plantations to fit more sympathetically into local landform, and improving the range of habitats by increasing the proportion of broadleaved species and open space.
• Protect, manage and expand stands of juniper scrub, by fencing to exclude grazing, to encourage its natural regeneration and improve its condition so that it is more resistant to disease, and by supplementary planting of juniper of local provenance to augment existing stands, and following guidance on disease control.
• Restore and maintain the strong patterns of drystone walls and field barns, using local stone for repairs where possible, to retain them as key historic landscape features and keep the visual link with the underlying geology.
• Manage the calamarian grasslands, to protect their specific plant communities, and link to interpretation of the mining heritage to improve understanding of their significance.
• Identify large-scale historic landscapes which have high incidence of inter-related features linked to the history of early lead mining and other mineral exploitation, including smelt mills, hushes, flues, lime kilns, and seek ways of protecting, managing and interpreting them.
• Provide access and interpretation where possible to enable more people to visit, enjoy and understand these extensive historical landscapes which provide clear opportunities for understanding the interconnections between the physical geography, natural history and historical development of the area.
• Protect and manage the many designated sites of international and national significance for their geodiversity interest, encourage further research and provide imaginative interpretation where appropriate, to build the area’s reputation as a Global Geopark.
• Develop the network of locally important geological sites, providing access for interpretation and education where possible.
• Make key geological and historical sites accessible, linking them to public rights of way to form circular routes taking in a number of landscape features and sites, and linking them to tourism facilities to encourage quiet enjoyment and eco-tourism.
• Work collaboratively to prevent damage to historical sites and control the collection of minerals and mining artefacts.
• Protect and restore traditional vernacular buildings, including the dispersed farmsteads, field barns, bastles and buildings within the villages, for example schools and non-conformist chapels, using local building stone and stone or slate for roofs, and local techniques and styles, to retain historic integrity, unity and character of the settlements, and making clear their links to the underlying geology.
• Ensure that new developments, including highways schemes, use local materials and styles, to ensure their integration into the landscape and avoid introducing inappropriate elements more suited to urban locations.
• Encourage an increase in public engagement with the natural environment through for example providing opportunities for research and practical conservation.