Eden Gorge
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
  Location within Cumbria | |
| Location | Cumbria |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | NY525430 |
| Coordinates | 54°46′47″N 2°44′24″W / 54.779648°N 2.7400190°W |
| Area | 359.5 acres (1.5 km2; 0.56 sq mi) |
| Notification | 1986 |
Eden Gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest[1][2] (SSSI) including a 5km length of the valley of the River Eden between Armathwaite and Lazonby in Cumbria, England. This protected area spans between the Settle-Carlisle railway track on the western side to Coombs Wood Forestry Commission site[3] on the eastern side. The protected area includes 30m high cliffs where the River Eden has eroded through New Red Sandstone. The semi-natural woodland is apparently a remnant of the ancient Inglewood forest.
Details
[edit]In the gorge, woodland tree species include sessile oak, birch and hazel. Ground cover in these woodlands include bilberry and a diversity of moss species, with herbs including yellow star-of-Bethlehem. In wetter areas, herbs include marsh hawk's-beard, moschatel, meadow saxifrage and alternate-leaved golden-saxifrage. A diversity of liverworts have been recorded in this protected area including Harpanthus scutatus, Bazzania trilobata, Microlejeunea uliana and Saccogyna viticulosa.[1]
Between the railway and the gorge woodland, there are grassland habitats that contain herbs such as petty whin and dyer's greenweed.[1]
Insect species include the timber-feeding beetles Saperda scalaris and Stenostola ferrea. Bird species include common sandpiper, woodcock, pied flycatcher and wood warbler. Red squirrel and otter have been recorded in this protected area.[1]
Just south of Armathwaite, beside the River Eden, there are five carvings of human faces carved in the sandstone cliff.[4]
Land ownership
[edit]Two major institutional landowners that own land within Eden Gorge SSSI are the Forestry Commission and Network Rail.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "SSSI detail". designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
- ^ "Protected Planet | Eden Gorge". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
- ^ "Coombs Wood". Forestry England. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
- ^ "Armathwaite". Visit Cumbria. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
- ^ "Mapping the habitats of England's ten largest institutional landowners". Who owns England?. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2024-12-05.