List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham explained

This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in County Durham, England. It excludes SSSIs situated in that area south of the River Tyne that is now part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear as well as the area north of the River Tees which, prior to 1996, formed part of the county of Cleveland.

As of July 2010, County Durham has 88 sites that have been designated as SSSIs, of which 67 have been designated for their biological interest, 16 for their geological interest, and 5 for both.^[1]

Five of these sites are shared with an adjacent county:

• Moorhouse and Cross Fell with Cumbria;
• Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine, Hexhamshire Moors and Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor with Northumberland;
• Durham Coast with both Cleveland (in the south) and Tyne and Wear (in the north).

Designation of SSSIs

Sites of Special Scientific Interest are areas that have been selected for special protection because of their floral, faunal or geological significance. The concept was first given a statutory basis in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, the relevant provisions of which were repeated in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under the 1949 Act, responsibility for selecting and notifying SSSIs in England was delegated to the newly created Nature Conservancy, which was replaced in 1973 by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC). In 1991, the NCC was split up, its responsibilities in England being passed to English Nature which, in turn, was amalgamated into a new body, Natural England, in 2006.

The process for establishing an SSSI is as follows:^[2]

• When a site has been identified, Natural England notifies the landowner, the occupier (if different) and the local planning authority (plus relevant government departments and agencies);
• Owners and occupiers are given time to lodge objections or make representations concerning the restrictions imposed on an SSSI;
• The Board of Natural England considers these responses and decides whether to confirm or withdraw the SSSI notification.

The initial notification of a site is accompanied by a citation sheet, which outlines the reasons for the notification: the data in the following list is summarised from these individual citation sheets.^[3]

Reasons for notification as SSSI

Of the 88 SSSIs designated in County Durham, 67 have been designated for their biological interest, 16 for their geological interest, and five for both biological and geological interest.

Biological

While many of the SSSIs designated for biological reasons cover a variety of habitats, most have been designated primarily for one (or more) of a small number of reasons, as detailed in the individual citation sheets:

• Habitats

• Moorland (upland heath and bogs) – Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells, Bowes Moor, Cotherstone Moor, Hexhamshire Moors, Lune Forest, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor, Upper Teesdale

• Lowland heath – Green Croft and Langley Moor, Hesledon Moor West, Waldridge Fell

• Wetlands (carr, fen, etc) – Burnhope Burn, Butterby Oxbow, Causey Bank Mires, Frog Wood Bog, Hell Kettles, Hesledon Moor East, Hesledon Moor West, Hisehope Burn Valley, Hulam Fen, Middleton Quarry, Pike Whin Bog, Pow Hill Bog, Railway Stell West, Redcar Field, The Carrs, Waldridge Fell, Witton-le-Wear

• Semi-natural woodland – Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods, Baldersdale Woodlands, Brignall Banks, Castle Eden Dene, Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine, Hawthorn Dene, Hisehope Burn Valley, Hunder Beck Juniper, Shipley and Great Woods, Slit Woods, Westernhope Burn Wood

• Magnesian limestone grassland – Bishop Middleham Quarry, Cassop Vale, Charity Land, Dabble Bank, Durham Coast, Fishburn Grassland, Hawthorn Dene, Hesledon Moor East, Pig Hill, Pittington Hill, Quarrington Hill Grasslands, Raisby Hill Grassland, Sherburn Hill, The Bottoms, Thrislington Plantation, Town Kelloe Bank, Trimdon Limestone Quarry, Tuthill Quarry, Wingate Quarry

• Hay meadows – Bowlees and Friar House Meadows, Cornriggs Meadows, Far High House Meadows, Grains o' th' Beck Meadows, Hannah's Meadows, Low Redford Meadows, Mere Beck Meadows, Middle Crossthwaite, Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows, Newton Ketton Meadow, Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows, West Newlandside Meadows, West Park Meadows

• Open water – Brasside Pond, The Carrs, Witton-le-Wear
• Fauna

• Breeding birds – Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells, Bowes Moor, Cotherstone Moor, Durham Coast, Hexhamshire Moors, Lune Forest, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor, Teesdale Allotments, Upper Teesdale

• Invertebrates – Bishop Middleham Quarry, Cassop Vale, Durham Coast, Green Croft and Langley Moor, Hexhamshire Moors, Middleton Quarry, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Pig Hill, Quarrington Hill Grasslands, Raisby Hill Grassland, Sherburn Hill, Thrislington Plantation, Town Kelloe Bank, Upper Teesdale, Waldridge Fell

Geological

The surface geology of County Durham is largely confined to rocks dating from the Carboniferous and Permian periods. In the west of the county, outcrops of Dinantian limestones are found in the river valleys, while the upland areas are underlain by the younger Namurian Millstone Grit Series. To the east, these rocks dip beneath the Westphalian Coal Measures, which underlay a broad swathe in the centre of the county. Further east, the Coal Measures are overlain by Permian Magnesian Limestone, which forms a low plateau across the eastern part of the county. Igneous intrusions are a prominent feature of the geology and gave rise to extensive mining for lead and other minerals, especially in the upper Weardale area in the west of the county.^{[4] [5]}

Although each SSSI designated for geological reasons has its own distinctive features, they fall into a small number of broad categories, as indicated in the individual citation sheets:

• Stratigraphy

• Sedimentary – Botany Hill, Crag Gill, Crime Rigg, Durham Coast, Hawthorn Quarry, Raisby Hill Quarry, Rogerley Quarry, Sleightholme Beck Gorge – The Troughs, Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon, Trimdon Limestone Quarry, Yoden Village Quarry

• Igneous – Greenfoot Quarry, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Upper Teesdale, West Rigg Open Cutting
• Mineralogy – Close House Mine, Foster's Hush, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Old Moss Lead Vein, Upper Teesdale, West Rigg Open Cutting
• Palaeontology – Middridge Quarry
• Quaternary events – Durham Coast, Upper Teesdale
• Geomorphology

• Cave development – Fairy Holes Cave, God's Bridge, Moorhouse and Cross Fell

• Coastal – Durham Coast

• Periglacial – Moorhouse and Cross Fell

• Fluvial – Moorhouse and Cross Fell

Area covered

From its inception, English Nature classified sites using the 1974–1996 county system. As Natural England uses the same system,^[6] it is also adopted in the following list. As a result, some sites that lie within the ceremonial county of Durham and might therefore be expected to be listed here will be found instead in either the Cleveland or the Tyne and Wear lists.

For other counties, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.

Sites

Site name	Reason for designation		Area		Grid reference	Year in which notified	Map
	Biological interest	Geological interest	Hectares	Acres
Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods			46.5	114.9		1987
Baldersdale Woodlands			19.6	48.4		1991
Bishop Middleham Quarry			8.6	21.3		1968
Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells			7,949.2	19,643.2		1996
Botany Hill			3.8	9.3		1984
Bowes Moor			4,457.7	11,014.9		1989
Bowlees and Friar House Meadows			5.6	13.9		1991
Brasside Pond			25.1	62.0		1966
Brignall Banks			85.0	210.0		1987
Burnhope Burn			5.1	12.6		1987
Butterby Oxbow			7.3	18.0		1957
Cassop Vale			40.9	101.0		1958
Castle Eden Dene			193.0	476.8		1984
Causey Bank Mires			6.8	16.8		1987
Charity Land			5.8	14.4		1999
Close House Mine			3.4	8.3		1995
Cornriggs Meadows			15.2	37.5		1989
Cotherstone Moor			2,449.5	6,050.1		1955
Crag Gill			2.3	5.7		1984
Crime Rigg and Sherburn Hill Quarries			23.2	57.4		1968
Dabble Bank			4.1	10.2		2002
			49.0 34.0	121.0 84.0		1976
			765.4	1,891.4	–	1960
Fairy Holes Cave			208.8	515.9		1961
Far High House Meadows			5.5	13.6		1990
Fishburn Grassland			1.1	2.8		1992
Foster's Hush			1.3	3.2
Frog Wood Bog			3.2	7.9		1989
God's Bridge			9.3	22.9		1986
Grains o' th' Beck Meadows			12.3	30.4		1989
Green Croft and Langley Moor			6.5 9.0 12.2	16.1 22.2 30.2		1989
Greenfoot Quarry			0.9	2.2		1984
Hannah's Meadows			7.1	17.5
Hawthorn Dene			64.1	158.4		1968
Hawthorn Quarry			9.8	24.2		1990
Hell Kettles			3.4	8.4		1976
Hesledon Moor East			6.0	14.8		1998
Hesledon Moor West			7.4	18.2		1984
			9,433.9	23,311.7		1998
Hisehope Burn Valley			14.9	36.9		1988
Hulam Fen			0.2	0.5		1986
Hunder Beck Juniper			3.5	8.5		1994
Kilmond Scar			4.5	11.1		1963
Low Redford Meadows			9.3	22.9		1991
Lune Forest			6,333.4	15,650.3		1998
Mere Beck Meadows			6.6	16.3		1989
Middle Crossthwaite			24.1	59.5		1991
Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows			17.3	42.7		1991
Middleton Quarry			6.0	14.8		1964
Middridge Quarry			1.9	4.7		1979
			13,707.0	33,870.0		1951 / 1963
			9,118.1	22,531.4		1997
Neasham Fen			2.5	6.1		1992
Newton Ketton Meadow			1.8	4.5		1989
Old Moss Lead Vein			0.6	1.5		1961
Park End Wood			10.3	25.5		1964
Pig Hill			12.6	31.2		1992
Pike Whin Bog			1.3	3.1		1984
Pittington Hill			6.4	15.8		1987
Pow Hill Bog			6.7	16.6		1986
Quarrington Hill Grasslands			4.5	11.1		2000
Railway Stell West			4.6	11.4	–	1986
Raisby Hill Grassland			15.1	37.4		1984
Raisby Hill Quarry			52.4	129.5		1957
Redcar Field			0.7	1.6		1985
Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows			14.7	36.3		1989
Rogerley Quarry			5.6	13.8	–	1984
Sherburn Hill			16.7	41.2		1985
Shipley and Great Woods			63.4	156.5		1975
Sleightholme Beck Gorge - The Troughs			7.5	18.5		1976
Slit Woods			14.1	34.8		1976
Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon			0.8	2.1		1996
Teesdale Allotments			1,308.3	3,231.6		1994
The Bottoms			2.2	5.2		1999
The Carrs			12.9	31.9		1988
Thrislington Plantation			22.7	56.1		1962
Town Kelloe Bank			6.0	15.0		1976
Trimdon Limestone Quarry			0.8	2.0		1992
Tuthill Quarry			10.7	26.5		1994
Upper Teesdale			14,035.6	34,681.9		1951
Waldridge Fell			113.5	280.4		1965
West Newlandside Meadows			12.5	30.8		1990
West Park Meadows			6.7	16.6		1989
West Rigg Open Cutting			4.8	11.9		1989
Westernhope Burn Wood			11.8	29.1		1976
Wingate Quarry			23.4	57.7		1984
Witton-le-Wear			36.2	89.4		1966
Yoden Village Quarry			0.4	1.0		1988

Notes

Data rounded to one decimal place.

Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.^[7] Where an SSSI consists of multiple, non-contiguous sections, each section is assigned its own OS grid reference.

Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by Natural England.

Natural England also lists Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine under Northumberland.

Natural England also lists Durham Coast under both Cleveland and Tyne and Wear.

The grid reference for Hexhamshire Moors places it in Northumberland, not Durham; Natural England lists it under both counties.

Natural England also lists Moorhouse and Cross Fell under Cumbria.

Natural England also lists Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor under Northumberland.

External links

• List of SSSIs in County Durham at Natural England

Notes and References

1. Web site: Search results for Durham. Natural England. 22 July 2010.
2. Web site: SSSIs – The designation process . Natural England . 22 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120515062100/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/special/sssi/notification.cfm . 15 May 2012 .
3. Natural England citation sheets for each SSSI. Retrieved on 2008-02-26. (PDF files).

   Web site: Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods. Web site: Baldersdale Woodlands. Web site: Bishop Middleham Quarry. Web site: Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells. Web site: Botany Hill. Web site: Bowes Moor. Web site: Bowlees and Friar House Meadows. Web site: Brasside Pond. Web site: Brignall Banks. Web site: Burnhope Burn. Web site: Butterby Oxbow. Web site: Cassop Vale. Web site: Castle Eden Dene. Web site: Causey Bank Mires. Web site: Charity Land. Web site: Close House Mine. Web site: Cornriggs Meadows. Web site: Cotherstone Moor. Web site: Crag Gill. Web site: Crime Rigg and Sherburn Hill Quarries. Web site: Dabble Bank. Web site: Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine. Web site: Durham Coast. 18 June 2011. 23 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121023205527/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000255.pdf. dead. Web site: Fairy Holes Cave. Web site: Far High House Meadows. Web site: Fishburn Grassland. Web site: Foster's Hush. Web site: Frog Wood Bog. Web site: God's Bridge.

   Web site: Grains o' th' Beck Meadows. Web site: Green Croft and Langley Moor. Web site: Greenfoot Quarry. Web site: Hannah's Meadows. Web site: Hawthorn Dene. Web site: Hawthorn Quarry. Web site: Hell Kettles. Web site: Hesledon Moor East. Web site: Hesledon Moor West. Web site: Hexhamshire Moors. Web site: Hisehope Burn Valley. Web site: Hulam Fen. Web site: Hunder Beck Juniper. Web site: Kilmond Scar. Web site: Low Redford Meadows. Web site: Lune Forest. Web site: Mere Beck Meadows. Web site: Middle Crossthwaite. Web site: Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows. Web site: Middleton Quarry. Web site: Middridge Quarry. Web site: Moorhouse and Cross Fell. Web site: Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor. Web site: Neasham Fen. Web site: Newton Ketton Meadow. Web site: Old Moss Lead Vein. Web site: Park End Wood. Web site: Pig Hill. Web site: Pike Whin Bog.

   Web site: Pittington Hill. Web site: Pow Hill Bog. Web site: Quarrington Hill Grasslands. Web site: Railway Stell West. Web site: Raisby Hill Grassland. Web site: Raisby Hill Quarry. Web site: Redcar Field. Web site: Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows. Web site: Rogerley Quarry. Web site: Sherburn Hill. Web site: Shipley and Great Woods. Web site: Sleightholme Beck Gorge – The Troughs. Web site: Slit Woods. Web site: Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon. Web site: Teesdale Allotments. Web site: The Bottoms. Web site: The Carrs. Web site: Thrislington Plantation. Web site: Town Kelloe Bank. Web site: Trimdon Limestone Quarry. Web site: Tuthill Quarry. Web site: Upper Teesdale. Web site: Waldridge Fell. Web site: West Newlandside Meadows. Web site: West Park Meadows. Web site: West Rigg Open Cutting. Web site: Westernhope Burn Wood. Web site: Wingate Quarry. Web site: Witton-le-Wear. Web site: Yoden Village Quarry.

4. Web site: The Durham Landscape . Durham County Council . 13 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110813231804/http://content.durham.gov.uk/PDFRepository/Durhamlandscapeassesssmentbackground.pdf . 13 August 2011 .
5. Web site: County Durham Local Development Framework Tech. Paper no. 20 – Minerals . April 2009 . Durham County Council . 16–20 . 13 August 2010.
6. Web site: Search for SSSI details . Natural England . 22 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100819192309/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/sssi/search.cfm . 19 August 2010 .
7. Web site: Guide to National Grid . Ordnance Survey . 21 February 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071027134518/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/help.html . 27 October 2007 . dmy .