North Pennines: Difference between revisions

|designated = [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] • [[UNESCO Global Geopark]]

The '''North Pennines''' is the northernmost section of the [[Pennines|Pennine range]] of hills which runs north–south through northern [[England]]. It lies between [[Carlisle]] to the west and [[Darlington]] to the east, straddling the borders of the counties of [[Cumbria]], [[County Durham|Durham]], [[Northumberland]] and [[North Yorkshire]]. It is bounded to the north by the [[River Tyne|Tyne Valley]] and to the south by the [[Stainmore]] Gap.

Besides farming, mining and quarrying have been a mainstay of the local economy over centuries. The area has in the past been mined and quarried for minerals such as barytes, coal fluorspar, iron, lead, witherite and zinc.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC - Seven Wonders - North Pennines|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/north/north_pennines/index.shtml|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref>

In 2013, a Canadian mining company were allowed to test drill for zinc around [[Allenheads]] and [[Nenthead]]. They said the region was sitting on a "world-class" deposit of zinc and predicted that a new mine in the area could produce {{convert|1,000,000|tonnes}} of zinc ore per year.<ref>{{cite news|title=North Pennines zinc mine 'could create 500 jobs'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-23716625|access-date=5 January 2017|work=BBC News|date=15 August 2013}}</ref>

In the North Pennines National Landscape area are: 40% of the UK's upland hay meadows; 30% of England's upland heathland and 27% of its [[blanket bog]]; 80% of England's [[black grouse]] (and also breeding [[short-eared owl]], [[ring ouzel]], [[common snipe]] and [[common redshank]]); 36% of the AONBNational Landscape area is designated as [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]]; [[red squirrel]]s, [[otter]]s and rare arctic alpine plants; 22,000 pairs of breeding [[wader]]s and one of England's biggest waterfalls – [[High Force]].<ref>{{cite web|title=North Pennines AONB|url=http://www.landscapesforlife.org.uk/north-pennines-aonb.html|website=www.landscapesforlife.org.uk|access-date=5 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307203025/http://www.landscapesforlife.org.uk/north-pennines-aonb.html|archive-date=7 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The area shares a boundary with the [[Yorkshire Dales National Park]] in the south and extends as far as the Tyne Valley, just south of [[Hadrian's Wall]] in the north.<ref>{{cite web|title=North Pennines AONB|url=http://www.landscapesforlife.org.uk/north-pennines-aonb.html|website=www.landscapesforlife.org.uk|access-date=5 January 2017|pages=26–27|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307203025/http://www.landscapesforlife.org.uk/north-pennines-aonb.html|archive-date=7 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The AONBNorth isPennines are notable for rare flora and fauna, including wild alpine plants not found elsewhere in Britain. It is also home to red squirrels and diverse birds of prey. The impressive landscape of the North Pennines – from High Force on the River Tees to the sweeping valley of [[High Cup Gill]] above [[Dufton]] – are the product of millions of years of geological processes. The worldwide significance of the geology found in the area was recognised in 2003 when the AONBNational Landscape became Britain's first [[European Geopark]].<ref>{{cite web|title=13/08/03 - North Pennines AONB gets Country`s first European Geopark status|url=http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/news/Archive/2003/august/13_08_03---North-Pennines-AONB-gets-Countrys-first-European-Geopark-status.asp|website=www.cumbria.gov.uk|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> A year later the area become one of the founding members of the [[UNESCO]]-assisted [[Global Geoparks Network|Global Geopark]] family and in 2015 it was accorded official status as a UNESCO Global Geopark.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Henderson|first1=Tony|title=North Pennines is to be formally declared an official UNESCO global geopark|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-pennines-formally-declared-official-10467966|access-date=5 January 2017|work=nechronicle|date=22 November 2015}}</ref> Geoparks are areas with outstanding geological heritage where this is being used to support sustainable development.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McMillan|first1=A .&nbsp;A.|editor1-last=Burek|editor1-first=C .&nbsp;V.|editor2-last=Prosser|editor2-first=C .&nbsp;D.|title=The history of geoconservation|date=2008|publisher=British Geological Society|location=London|isbn=978-1-86239-254-0|page=108|edition=1|chapter=The role of the British Geological Survey in geoconservation}}</ref>

The great English poet [[W. H. Auden]] spent much time in this area and some forty poems and two plays are set here. Auden visited the area in 1919 and "five years later was writing poems about Alston Moor and Allendale."<ref>{{cite book|first=W .&nbsp;R. |last=Mitchell |date=September 2007 |title=The Eden Valley and the North Pennines |page=100 |publisher=Phillimore |isbn=9781860774508}}</ref> He referred to the region as his "Mutterland", his "great good place", and equated it with his idea of Eden. Scores of Pennine place-names are found in his work, including [[Cauldron Snout]] and [[Rookhope]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Humanists- Auden, W. H. {{!}} The Eloquent Atheist|url=http://www.eloquentatheist.com/2012/07/historic-humanists-auden-w-h/|website=www.eloquentatheist.com|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Partridge|first1=Frank|title=North Pennines: Poetry in motion|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/north-pennines-poetry-in-motion-437571.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/north-pennines-poetry-in-motion-437571.html |archive-date=21 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=5 January 2017|work=The Independent|date=24 February 2007}}</ref>

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