17 - Orton Fells : Description

Physical and functional links to other National Character Areas

The Orton Fells National Character Area (NCA) comprises a distinct tilted upland plateau of limestone upland, mostly between 180 m and 300 m in elevation, with its highest point at 412 m. This open upland plateau is separated by valleys from the surrounding uplands, and there are striking views out in all directions, to the Cumbria High Fells to the west, the Howgills to the south, Mallerstang and the Yorkshire Dales to the south-east and the North Pennines to the east and north-east.

The plateau of the Orton Fells forms the watershed between the rivers Eden and the Lune. The River Eden flows north through Mallerstang on the east side, then turns to flow north-west down the wide valley to the north of the Orton Fells. Several small rivers, including the Lowther, Lyvennet, Hoff Beck and Scandal Beck, rise from the watershed formed by the underlying limestone and flow north and north-east through narrow valleys before joining the River Eden, which flows north-west to Carlisle and the Solway Firth. The River Eden and its tributaries are designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for their freshwater habitats. A few smaller rivers flow south from the watershed to join the River Lune, which flows from east to west along the south of the area.

Along the west side of the Orton Fells is a nationally significant transport corridor which contains the A6, the M6 and the West Coast Main Line railway, all running north-south and linking England with Scotland. The A685, which runs across the south of the area, provides a link to this transport corridor across the uplands of the Pennines to the east.

The Orton Fells today

The Orton Fells are formed from a distinct block of limestone that runs northwest to south-east and rises to above 400 m at its highest point. The higher land is open and sweeping, with long-distance views out in all directions across valleys to the dramatic skylines of the surrounding uplands, and a strong sense of exposure and remoteness. Nine per cent of the NCA lies within the Lake District national Park. The upland is dissected by several streams and valleys, some forming dry valleys and some featuring rivers. The Leith, Lowther, Lyvennet, Hoff Beck and Scandal Beck rise here and flow north and west to join the River Eden. Other small rivers, such as Rais Beck, flow south to join the River Lune, which is important for its salmon and which flows from east to west through a shallow valley along the south of the area. Rivers tend to have low flows due to the underlying limestone, with some – for example Drybeck – exhibiting classic limestone dry stretches.

The limestone upland fells are characterised by extensive areas of limestone pavement, rock outcrops, scree and scars, as well as wide expanses of acid grassland, upland heath and mires, alongside contrasting herb-rich limestone grasslands. Much of it is common land, and sheep and cattle graze across this large-scale, largely treeless landscape, with just a few isolated windswept ash and rowan trees. High drystone walls define large enclosures. There are a small number of long straight roads crossing the upland, and few settlements, although there is plenty of evidence of early settlement, with stone circles, cairns, burial mounds, field systems and settlements.

Extensive areas of the fells, notably the Asby Complex, are designated as an SAC, for their range of karst features and their combinations of acid and baserich soils that give rise to wet heath, with small areas of blanket bog, dry heath, and both acid and calcareous grassland. Outflows of calcareous water create alkaline fens and petrifying springs, which support rare species of snail and mosses. Some of the best examples of limestone pavement, with woodland species and assemblages of ferns growing within the sheltered grykes, can be found here. Great Asby Scar is a National Nature Reserve (NNR), where grazing is being excluded or reduced to encourage growth of scrub above the grykes. In contrast, Smardale NNR is a narrow wooded gill, with ash and wych elm woodlands alongside limestone grasslands. Smardale supports an outstanding range of northern butterfly species such as Scotch argus and northern brown argus. The area also supports populations of buzzards and ravens, along with breeding waders including lapwing, curlew, golden plover and red grouse.

Because of the underlying limestone there are few waterbodies, making Sunbiggin Tarn, a marl lake, of particular interest with its rich fen and reed swamp flora and its tufa formations. The water quality of the streams and rivers is high and, as they flow over both limestone and bands of sandstone, the rivers comprise a range of habitat types, including shingles and gravels in the actively moving channels, which support diverse plant and animal populations. Several tributaries of the Eden are designated as an SAC, supporting rich plant communities along with brook and river lamprey, bullhead, salmon, whiteclawed crayfish and otters.

On the lower-lying land within the valleys and along the fringes, fields are managed for livestock grazing (mainly sheep but some cattle). These fields provide hay, silage and winter grazing, and are bounded by drystone walls built of local limestone. In places these fields follow medieval open field systems of long narrow strips or small fields around settlements, giving rise to very strong historic field patterns. Some of the most species-rich hay meadows in Cumbria can be found here; they feature globeflower and lady’s mantle. These meadows form part of the dispersed North Pennine Dales Meadows SAC. Wet grasslands provide nesting and feeding for species such as lapwing, curlew, redshank, snipe and yellow wagtail.

Woodland cover is sparse and is largely limited to copses of ash, with some sycamore, which shelter the isolated farmsteads, or clumps within the villages. Individual ash trees are found on the limestone pavements and along field boundaries. There are a few obtrusive conifer plantations on the higher land. Typical of the area are small upland ash woodlands, often found on the steep side slopes of the narrow valleys along the north side of the area, and often of ancient origin, as in Smardale and Crosby Gill.

The lower-lying undulating land in the north-west forms a transition between the upland limestone and the improved pastures of the Eden Valley, with fields of more intensively managed grasslands, and drystone walls giving way to hedges and fences. Here there are a number of small coniferous and mixed woodlands, established for timber, shelter and shooting interests.

The population is low, with dispersed and isolated farmsteads on the fells and fell sides, and several small and very quiet villages. These reflect a remarkably intact historical settlement pattern, along with evidence of earlier settlements. Villages are often clustered around a springline, on the lower hillsides and in the valleys; Orton and Newbiggin-on-Lune lie on the south side of the upland ridge, with Lowther, Maulds Meaburn, Crosby Ravensworth, Great Asby and Crosby Garrett along the north side. The towns of Tebay and Kirkby Stephen lie on the south and east boundaries respectively. Several of the villages are of considerable historical interest, with largely intact houses, churches, village halls, farms and barns constructed from local limestone exhibiting a uniformity of scale, form and colour. Many still reveal medieval agricultural systems, with strip enclosures (tofts) to the rear of properties, patterns of open fields, and droveways leading out to common land. Some villages, such as Great Asby and Maulds Meaburn, are built around a long central green, with numerous small bridges crossing the stream.

Throughout the area there are many traditional farmsteads built of local limestone, with barns and outshots dispersed across the higher land, often sheltered by a copse of broadleaved trees. Local limestone has been used to build most of the farmsteads and villages, giving a high degree of visual unity to all the settlements. There is a limited network of quiet walled roads or outgangs, often long and straight with wide verges, which support a range of flowering species. This makes them a distinctive feature for visitors, as well as valuable for their biodiversity: they often act as repositories for meadow and calcareous grassland species.

The area is remarkably tranquil, with the distinctive calls of waders such as curlew and lapwing contributing to the sense of place and remoteness. Only the A6, the M6, the railway and the pylons, all contained within the main north-south transport corridor to the west, and the large quarries and works at Shap disturb the rural and remote feel of the landscape, although this impact is restrained by the landform, containing it within a narrow strip.

Most of the open fells are open access land, with some grouse shooting on Crosby Ravensworth Fell and Ash Fell. Visitors are attracted by the opportunities for quiet recreation within a high-quality landscape, appreciating the geology and history, wildlife and angling. The network of quiet roads, including walled green lanes based on old drovers’ tracks, provide good routes for walking, horse riding and cycling. The area is crossed by the Pennine Bridleway, the Coast to Coast Walk and the Walney to Wear cycle route, and also the historic Settle-Carlisle Railway in the east of the area.

Cultural connections include views painted from Orton Scar by J.M.W. Turner, and writings on the Coast to Coast Walk by A. Wainwright. Contemporary artist Andy Goldsworthy, working with local people, has created several distinctive ‘sheepfold’ structures on the fells.

The landscape through time

Continental collision and mountain building during the Devonian Period led to the emplacement of the Shap and Weardale Granites, which, with the older granites of the Lake District, underpin the upland areas of the Lake District to the west and the Alston Block to the east, creating the Stainmore Basin. The Orton Fells are dominated by Carboniferous rocks that were deposited in the Stainmore Basin. Deposits of sandstones such as the Ash Fell Sandstone, which forms a prominent bench in the west of the area, were followed by deposits of limestone, which now dominates. Repeated local rise and fall in sea levels resulted in marine limestone alternating with fluviodeltaic sediments – mudstones, siltstones and sandstones. These beds today create a sequence of parallel escarpments and extensive limestone pavements, most notably the Knipe Scar Limestone, which at Great Asby Scar forms the most extensive pavements outside Ingleborough. During the Pleistocene Period, ice flows from the Howgill Fells moved north-east across the limestone, scouring the landscape and exposing a pre-glacial karst landscape, influenced by the solution of limestone beneath a cover of acidic soil and vegetation. As water flowed down the dipping slope of the limestone, the characteristic grykes (channels) were formed in the direction of dip and the clints (blocks) parallel to the edge of the escarpment. Since the retreat of the ice, the continued weathering of the clints and grykes has given rise to a great variety of solution features on the pavement surfaces.

The retreat of the ice sheets deposited till over lower-lying areas. Other features of characteristic karst scenery include scars, outcrops and screes. An igneous granite intrusion containing highly distinctive large crystals occurs near Shap. It is surrounded by a broad aureole of metamorphosed rocks where it had contact with the limestone. To the north and east of Shap there are abundant erratics of the distinctive pink Shap Granite which have been carried north and eastwards by the ice sheets. The development of tufa continues in calcareous outflows and springs and in the Sunbiggin Tarn marl lake.

Early farming and climatic changes led to clearance of forests and changes to soils. Evidence shows that settlements were established here as early as the Neolithic period, with a rich concentration of remains such as stone circles and burial mounds. Valleys were farmed during the Romano-British period, with remains of Roman roads still evident, but were then overlain by 6th- and 7th-century Anglian settlements, farmsteads and field patterns. Overall there is an exceptional assemblage of archaeological earthworks, including lynchets, ridge and furrow, field systems, enclosed and unenclosed farmsteads, dykes and tracks, all of which contribute to a landscape of nationally significant time depth.

The present settlement pattern was formalised during the 12th and 13th centuries, with nucleated and linear villages along springlines on the edges of the fells. Patterns of tenure and common rights were established which are still evident today, with strip enclosures to the rear of properties and droveways or outgangs providing links to common land. In places there are good examples of medieval open fields and settlement earthworks, as at Waitby and Smardale. Monastic granges such as Gaythorne and Asby developed from the 14th century, and the area was a centre of sheep rearing for quality fleeces. There are scattered remains of sheilings or summer settlements of monastic farms, some of which developed into farmsteads and hamlets, and of shrunken and deserted medieval settlements. There is also an exceptionally high survival of traditional farmsteads in the area, with farmsteads being rebuilt and adapted from the 17th century onwards. There is a high concentration of historic utilitarian features such as small disused quarries, lime kilns and sheepfolds, which reflects the underlying geology and land uses over the centuries. Enclosure of fields using drystone walls took place up to the mid-18th century, giving rise to the larger, more rectilinear field patterns.

The Settle-Carlisle Railway, built in the 1870s and now a Conservation Area, forms a distinctive linear feature crossing the area, with its classic railway architecture and heritage features. It carries both passenger and freight trains, and is an important alternative to the busy West Coast Main Line. Smardale viaduct, part of the disused Darlington-Tebay railway line, is a notable landmark and listed structure, along with Pendragon Castle and Lowther Castle.

There is visible evidence that, over time, limestone has been extracted from many small-scale quarries, largely for local use; but now just two large quarries remain, at Shap. One extracts Shap granite, and is an internationally significant site for its geological exposures, popular for undergraduate teaching and with amateur geologists.