South Pennines

Coordinates: 53°37′16″N 1°44′28″W / 53.621°N 1.741°W / 53.621; -1.741

The South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in Northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. In the west it includes the Forest of Rossendale and the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by the Greater Manchester conurbation in the west and the Yorkshire Dales to the north. To the east it is fringed by the towns of West and South Yorkshire whilst to the south it is often considered to end at the northern edge of the Peak District national park.

National character area

The Southern Pennines National Character Area defined by Natural England includes the West Pennine Moors and is a landscape of broad moorland, flat-topped hills and fields enclosed by dry stone walls. It is formed from the Millstone Grit and Coal Measures of the Carboniferous age. Settlements built from local gritstone occupy river valleys with wooded sides. Peat soils and blanket bog on the moors store carbon while high rainfall fills many reservoirs supplying water to the adjacent conurbations. The area is important for recreation having open access areas, footpaths and historic packhorse routes.