Allolee to Walltown

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Allolee to Walltown
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Northumberland UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Northumberland
Area of Search Northumberland
Grid reference NY686669
Coordinates 54°59′45″N2°29′25″W / 54.99581°N 2.49037°W / 54.99581; -2.49037 Coordinates: 54°59′45″N2°29′25″W / 54.99581°N 2.49037°W / 54.99581; -2.49037
InterestBiological
Area33.9 hectares (84 acres)
Notification 1991
Location map DEFRA MAGIC map
Natural England website

Allolee to Walltown is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The site, which follows the path of a section of Hadrian's Wall, is notable for an unusually wide range of grassland types growing on thin soil above the Whin Sill, a rock formation peculiar to the Northern Pennines. [1] [2]

Contents

Location and natural features

Allolee to Walltown is situated in the north-east of England, some 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east-north-east of Greenhead and 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north-north-west of Haltwhistle. It is an east-west corridor of land straddling Hadrian's Wall for a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) between Milecastle 45 (Walltown) to the west, and Turret 43B in the east, just short of the fort of Aesica (Great Chesters). Milecastle 44 (Allolee) is found at approximately the middle point of the east-west SSSI site. [1] [2]

The site is situated on the Whin Sill, igneous rock dolerite found in County Durham and Northumberland, which outcrops as high, rocky cliff lines, and which was used by the builders of Hadrian's Wall to full strategic advantage. The particular rock of the Winn Sill gives rise to conditions less acidic than comparable types, and the overlying soil is thin and peaty; it provides a habitat for glasses than tolerate dry conditions, notably wild chives ( Allium schoenoprasum ), rare in Northumberland other than on the Whin Sill. [2]

Vegetation

Besides wilc chives, the thin soil of the site supports biting stonecrop ( Sedum acre ), hairy stonecrop ( S. villosum ), wild thyme ( Thymus praecox ), parsley piert ( Aphanes arvensis ), common whitlow-grass ( Erophila verna ), early hair-grass ( Aira praecox ), annual knawel ( Sceleranthus annuus ), rue-leaved saxifrage ( Saxifraga tridactylites ) and long-stalked cranesbill ( Geranium columbinum ). [2]

Grassland surrounding drier areas is composed of red fescue ( Festuca rubra ), common bent ( Agrostis capillaris ), sweet vernal-grass ( Anthoxanthum odoratum ), crested dog's-tail ( Cynosurus cristatus ) and heath grass ( Danthonia decumbens ). Crags and north-facing scarp slopes support bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ) and heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), fir clubmoss ( Lycopodium selago ) and parsley fern ( Cryptogramma crispa ). Green spleenwort ( Asplenium viride ) is found on limestone outcrops. [2]

More calcareous areas support a herb-rich grassland with meadow oat-grass ( Avenula pratensis ), quaking grass ( Briza media ), dyer's greenweed ( Genista tinctoria ), common rock-rose ( Helianthemum nummularium ), greater burnet ( Sanguisorba officinalis ) and salad burnet ( S. minor ). [2]

On unit of the site, a dip slope east of Allolee has poor drainage, which supports a 'most unusual' species-rich grassland dominated by purple moor-grass ( Molinia caerulea ) and having quaking grass, meadow oat-grass, spring sedge ( Carex caryophyllea ), glaucous sedge ( C. flacca ), tawny sedge ( C. hostiana ), flea sedge ( C. pulicaris ), lady's mantle ( Alchemilla filicaulis ), lady's bedstraw ( Galium verum ), fairy flax ( Linum catharticum ), cowslip ( Primula veris ), devil's-bit scabious ( Succisa pratensis ), greater burnet and wild thyme. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Whin Sill

The Whin Sill or Great Whin Sill is a tabular layer of the igneous rock dolerite in County Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria in the northeast of England. It lies partly in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and partly in Northumberland National Park and stretches from Teesdale northwards towards Berwick.

Congrove Field and The Tumps

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Whitton Bridge Pasture

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Tunstall Hills

Tunstall Hills is an area of open space in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a Local Nature Reserve and Tunstall Hills And Ryhope Cutting has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest both for its geological and biological importance. The area consists of Green Hill and Rocky Hill and surrounding land.

Raisby Hill Grassland

Raisby Hill Grassland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in east County Durham, England. It lies just over 1 km east of the village of Coxhoe.

Milecastle 44

Milecastle 44 (Allolee) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall.

Milecastle 43

Milecastle 43 was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall. It was obliterated when the fort at Great Chesters (Aesica) was built.

Milecastle 45

Milecastle 45 (Walltown) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall.

Arcot Hall Grasslands and Ponds

Arcot Hall Grasslands and Ponds is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Cramlington in Northumberland, England, notable as the largest lowland species-rich grassland in North East England. The site is composed of grassland, heath, ponds, and associated damp habitats now rare in Northumberland.

Aules Hill Meadows

Aules Hill Meadows is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The site, listed since 1992, is a set of four traditionally managed northern hay meadows, now rare in Northumberland.

Bamburgh Coast and Hills

Bamburgh Coast and Hills is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the coast of north Northumberland, England. The site is one of the longest-standing SSSIs in England, having been listed since 1954, and displays the interaction of a fluid magma rock, now known as the Whin Sill, interacting with older sedimentary rock. Coastal erosion at the site enables sections of the geological strata to be seen. In turn, the soil associated with the Whin Sill gives rise to a distinct pattern of vegetation which on its own merits is at this site found notable.

Barrow Burn Meadows Site of Special Scientific Interest in north Northumberland, England

Barrow Burn Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, England. The site is a species-rich hay meadow of a sort now rare in Northumberland.

Bavington Crags Site of Special Scientific Interest in north Northumberland, England

Bavington Crags is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, England. The site is an outcropping of the Whin Sill which gives rise to a distinctive flora particular to the thin soil conditions on this bedrock.

Beltingham River Shingle

Beltingham River Shingle is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland in the north-east of England, notable for an unusual community of flora tolerant to the high levels of naturally occurring heavy metals in the sediment of a section of the River South Tyne.

Brada Hill

Brada Hill is a small hill escarpment near the coast of north Northumberland in North East England, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The 2.4 hectares site is an outcropping of a local stone group, the Whin Sill, on which grows a range of flora representative of the thin, drought-prone soil conditions and influenced by the underlying geology.

Burnfoot River Shingle and Wydon Nabb

Burnfoot River Shingle and Wydon Nabb is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, North East England. Burnfoot River Shingle is a calaminarian grassland on the River South Tyne where the local flora is influenced by high levels of naturally occurring heavy metals. Wydon Nabb is an escarpment displaying the Haltwhistle Dyke, a magmatic intrusion of igneous dolerite set amidst sedimentary sandstone and shale.

References

  1. 1 2 "MAGIC Map Application - Allolee to Walltown". DEFRA MAGIC Map. DEFRA.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Allolee to Walltown SSSI Citation" (PDF). Natural England.
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