Harton Down Hill

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'Blackberry Hills' within Harton Down Hill SSSI Blackberry Hills (what remains of them) - geograph.org.uk - 1666539.jpg
'Blackberry Hills' within Harton Down Hill SSSI

Harton Down Hill or Harton Downhill, also known locally as Blackberry Hills, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) [1] [2] [3] in the Horsley Hill area of South Shields in the South Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. This area is protected because of the special combination of plant species that grow on the shallow soil above the Magnesian Limestone rocks here.

Contents

The land area designated as Harton Down Hill SSSI is within a larger area along Coast Road that is designated as a Local Nature Reserve called Harton Downhill. [4] This protected area is close to Bramble Court Assisted Housing.

Biology

Plants in this Magnesian Limestone grassland plant community include greater knapweed, yarrow, harebell, lady's bedstraw, bird's-foot trefoil, spiny restharrow, hoary plantain, sea plantain, salad burnet, cowslip, wild thyme and devil's-bit scabious. There is also a large population of perennial flax (one of its most northernmost localities of perennial flax in Britain). [1]

Spiny restharrow plants at Harton Down Hill have been used to understand the different ploidy levels within this plant species. [5]

Land ownership

All land within Harton Down Hill SSSI is owned by the local authority. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "SSSI detail". designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  2. ↑ "Protected Planet | Harton Down Hill". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  3. ↑ "Harton Downhill Local Nature Reserve". South Tyneside Council. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  4. ↑ "Designated Sites View". designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  5. ↑ Kloda, J. M.; Dean, P. D. G.; Maddren, C.; MacDonald, D. W.; Mayes, S. (March 2008). "Using principle component analysis to compare genetic diversity across polyploidy levels within plant complexes: an example from British Restharrows (Ononis spinosa and Ononis repens)". Heredity. 100 (3): 253–260. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6801044. ISSN   1365-2540.
  6. ↑ "Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament". questions-statements.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-20.

54°58′57″N1°23′32″W / 54.982581°N 1.3921356°W / 54.982581; -1.3921356

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