Burnhope Seat

Last updated

Burnhope Seat
Burnhope seat.jpg
Burnhope Seat Summit
Highest point
Elevation 747 m (2,451 ft)
Prominence 190 m (620 ft)
Parent peak Cross Fell
Listing Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
Geography
Burnhope Seat
Location Cumbria and County Durham, England
Parent range North Pennines
OS grid NY785375
Topo map OS Landranger 91

Burnhope Seat is a high moorland fell in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in northern England. It lies between the heads of the Rivers Tees, South Tyne and Wear. The summit is crossed by the boundary between County Durham and Cumbria (historically Cumberland). The trig point is the highest point in historic County Durham. However, this is not quite the summit of the mountain (which lies 400 m west and 1 m higher across the border into historic Cumberland). Mickle Fell, south of Teesdale is higher than Burnhope Seat and is sometimes quoted as being the highest top of County Durham, but this is historically not correct. Mickle Fell, although it lies within the unitary council area of Durham County Council for administrative purposes, is historically a part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, and is the highest point in that county.

The character of the fell is very typical of the high Pennines, with an extensive and poorly drained summit plateau of tussock grass and peat bog. The B6277 road between Alston and Middleton-in-Teesdale passes within 2 km of the summit, thus providing the easiest route of ascent. The hill may also be climbed from Weardale as part of a high-level circuit of Burnhope Reservoir. There are some ski-tows on the northwest slopes of the hill - this forms the Yad Moss ski facility, [1] which has recently been upgraded by Sport England.

The entire area is designated "access land" under the terms of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Force</span> Set of waterfalls in Northern England

Low Force is an 18-foot (5.5m) high set of falls on the River Tees, England, UK. Further upstream is the High Force waterfall. Low Force is also the site of the Wynch Bridge, completed in 1830. It is suggested by signs at each end that only one person at a time should cross the bridge as it may be unstable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland</span> Historic county of England

Cumberland is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle, part of the Lake District and North Pennines, and the Solway Firth coastline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennines</span> Range of uplands in Northern England

The Pennines, also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "backbone of England" because of its length and position, the range runs from Derbyshire and Staffordshire in the north of the Midlands to Northumberland in North East England. From the Tyne Gap in the north, the range extends south through the North Pennines, Yorkshire Dales, South Pennines, and Peak District to end near the valley of the River Trent. The Border Moors and Cheviot Hills, which lie beyond the Tyne Gap, are included in some definitions of the range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alston, Cumbria</span> Town in Cumbria, England

Alston is a town in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, within the civil parish of Alston Moor. It is located at about 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level in the North Pennines, the River South Tyne, and shares the title of 'highest market town in England', with Buxton, Derbyshire. Despite its relative isolation, the town has road connections to the Tyne Gap to the north, Weardale and Teesdale to the south-east, and Penrith to the south-west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Durham</span> County of England

County Durham, officially simply Durham (/ˈdʌrəm/), is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkshire Three Peaks</span> Mountainous peaks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

The mountains of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent are collectively known as the Three Peaks. The peaks, which form part of the Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the North of England.

Startforth Rural District was a rural district in the North Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire in the Pennines of northern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Fell</span> Mountain in Cumbria, England

Cross Fell is the highest mountain in the Pennines of Northern England and the highest point in England outside the Lake District. It is located in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies within the county of Cumbria and the historic county boundaries of Cumberland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teesdale</span> Valley in Northern England

Teesdale is a dale, or valley, located principally in County Durham, North East England. It is one of the Durham Dales, which are themselves part of the North Pennines, the northernmost part of the Pennine uplands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cheviot</span> Highest summit in the Cheviot Hills, England

The Cheviot is an extinct volcano and the highest summit in the Cheviot Hills and in the county of Northumberland. Located in the extreme north of England, it is a 1+14-mile (2-kilometre) walk from the Scottish border and, with a height of 2,674 feet above sea-level, is located on the northernmost few miles of the Pennine Way, before the descent into Kirk Yetholm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Hill (Peak District)</span> Hill in Derbyshire and West Yorkshire, England

Black Hill, in the Peak District, is the highest hill in West Yorkshire, England. Its summit rises to an elevation of 582 m (1,909 ft) above sea level. It is surpassed in height by only two other major summits in the Peak District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickle Fell</span> Mountain in northern England

Mickle Fell is a mountain in the Pennines, the range of hills and moors running down the middle of Northern England. It has a maximum elevation of 788 m (2,585 ft). It lies slightly off the main watershed of the Pennines, about 10 miles south of Cross Fell. After Cross Fell, Mickle Fell is the highest Marilyn within the North Pennines designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Dun Fell</span> Mountain in the United Kingdom

At a height of 848 metres (2,782 ft), Great Dun Fell is the second-highest mountain in England's Pennines, lying two miles south along the watershed from Cross Fell, its higher neighbour. Together with its smaller twin, Little Dun Fell, which reaches 842 m (2,762 ft), it forms a stepping-stone for the Pennine Way on its long climb up from Dufton. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Westmorland, the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and the modern unitary authority area of Westmorland & Furness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Fell</span>

Blake Fell is a hill in the Western part of the English Lake District. It is the highest point of the Loweswater Fells, an area of low grassy hills with steep sides overlooking the lake of Loweswater. The fell also overlooks the village of Loweswater, from which it can be climbed. An alternative route is from the Cogra Moss reservoir on its western slopes. Because the Loweswater Fells are a separate geographical unit, Blake Fell is a Marilyn. It is located in the Parish of Lamplugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stainmore</span> Human settlement in England

Stainmore is a remote geographic area in the Pennines on the border of Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name is used for a civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South Stainmore. The parish had a population of 253 in the 2001 census, increasing to 264 at the Census 2011. Stainmore Forest stretches further east into County Durham, towards Bowes.

The Durham Dales are a series of valleys in the west of County Durham, North East England. They are the Durham portion of the North Pennines, the northernmost part of the Pennine uplands. The principal valleys are Teesdale in the south and Weardale in the north, each of which has several side valleys, including Baldersdale, Lunedale, and Rook Hope. The part of Teesdale south of the Tees was historically in Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorhouse and Cross Fell</span>

Moorhouse and Cross Fell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Wear Valley district of west County Durham and the Eden district of Cumbria, England. It is contiguous with Upper Teesdale SSSI to the east and Appleby Fells SSSI to the south. The area covered extends roughly from an arc through the villages of Gamblesby, Leadgate and Garrigill southward as far as Milburn in the west and Cow Green Reservoir in the east. It includes the whole of Cross Fell, the summit of which, at 893 metres asl, is the highest point in the Pennines and in England outside the Lake District.

Lune Forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Teesdale district of west Durham, England. In the north, where it adjoins the Upper Teesdale and Appleby Fells SSSIs, it extends from Mickle Fell eastward almost as far as Harter Fell, above the hamlet of Thringarth. Its southern limit is marked by the River Balder, upstream from Balderhead Reservoir, where it shares a boundary with Cotherstone Moor SSSI to the south. Grains o' th' Beck Meadows and Close House Mine SSSIs are entirely surrounded by Lune Forest, but do not form part of it.

Moor House-Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve covers 7,400 ha of the Pennine moors in the north of England. It straddles Cumbria and County Durham. It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976.

Harthope Moss, also known as Chapel Fell is a mountain pass in the English Pennines. The pass divides Weardale to the north and Teesdale to the south. The unclassified road over the pass connects the A689 at St John's Chapel, County Durham with the B6277 near Langdon Beck in Upper Teesdale, County Durham. It is the equal highest paved pass in England with the Killhope Cross on the A689, approximately 10 miles to the north on the other side of Burnhope Seat.

References

  1. Yad Moss snow slope
  2. "In Focus: what the law says about public access and why the term 'right to roam' is incorrect • CLA". www.cla.org.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2024.

54°43′55″N2°20′07″W / 54.73202°N 2.33539°W / 54.73202; -2.33539