__NOTOC__ Bewick and Beanley Moors is the name given to a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) in north

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, in the

north-east of England In modern contexts Northumbria usually refers to the region of England between the Tees and Tweed, including the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham, but may also be taken to be synonymous with North East England. The area correspo ...

. The moors are asserted to be of national importance by Natural England for the extent, quality and diversity of upland types including

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s, wet grassland, flushes,

mire A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

s and

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...

s, together creating an extensive mosaic habitat supporting an exceptional community of amphibians. The moors are important, too, for their relict juniper woodland and scrub. Designated in 2010, Bewick and Beanley Moors incorporates within its boundaries two now denotified SSSIs, Hannah's Hill, Harehope (first notified in 1968) and Quarryhouse Moor Ponds (first notified in 1986).

Location and natural features

Bewick and Beanley Moors, as defined for the purposes of the SSSI, are three distinct and non-contiguous moorland areas in north Northumberland, located to the north and north-west of

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

, and to the south-east of

Wooler Wooler ( ) is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, near the Cheviot Hills. It is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots". As well as many shops ...

, extending to about north to south, and up to east to west. The moors are to the west of the A1, east of the

A697 The A697 is a road that can be used an alternative to the A1 for those travelling between Scotland and England via the North East. Route It connects Morpeth on the A1 to the A68 at Oxton, near Edinburgh. The road runs via Wooler and Col ...

and south of the B6348 roads. The southernmost section, south-east of

Beanley Beanley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Hedgeley in the county of Northumberland, England. It is situated to the north-west of Alnwick, near Eglingham. In 1951 the parish had a population of 53. In 1870–1872, John ...

, south of

Eglingham Eglingham is a village in Northumberland, England, situated about north-west of Alnwick and from Wooler. It lies in the sheltered valley of the Eglingham Burn, a tributary of the River Aln, about above sea level, in a rural conservation area ...

and the B6346 road, and north of

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

and Titlington, is an irregularly shaped area of moorland, some north to south, and east to west. It is composed of, from the west, Titlington Pike, a round hill rising from circa to above sea level; Titlington and Beanley Plantations and Beanley Moss, wetlands falling gently to the east from about to ; Beanley Moor, making up the majority of the area, wetlands falling very slowly from to before descending to about at Kimmer and

Hunterheugh Crags Hunterheugh Crags are part of the Fellsandstone escarpment, north west of Alnwick, Northumberland, England and from the coast. The site is moorland forming part of the Bewick and Beanley Moors SSSI, although before the Bronze Age it is likely to ...

, a semicircle

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

of steeply descending land with rock outcrops; and Kimmer Lough, a ovaloid

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

- a deep

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

formed in the void remaining after a submerged glacial calf block melted - at circa above sea level. Kimmer Crags, at the centre of the area, is north-east of Alnwick and south of Eglingham. The middle and largest section, north of Eglingham and south-east of Chillingham and Hepburn, extends to some north to south, and east to west, and is composed in the south of Bewick Moor, in the north west, Hepburn Moor and in the north east, Quarryhouse Moor, which rise from about in the south-east at Harehope in a series of escarpments to a wetland

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

area starting at about with Cateran Hill, a local peak, at the centre. At the far north west, the site includes

Ross Castle Ross Castle ( ga, Caisleán an Rois) is a 15th-century tower house and keep on the edge of Lough Leane, in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. It is the ancestral home of the Chiefs of the Clan O'Donoghue, later associated with th ...

, a hill just east of

Chillingham Castle Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It was the seat of the Grey and Bennett (later Earls of Tankerville) families from the 15th century until the 1980s, when it b ...

. Cateran Hill - notable locally for the

Cateran Hole Cateran Hole is a circa 35m length cave set in the Gritstone of Cateran Hill in Northumberland. It lies about 4 miles due north of Eglingham, and can be reached by lining up the tall mast behind the farm with the left-hand end of the wood to the ...

- is about north of Eglingham. The northernmost section, situated on the east-falling slopes of moors from east of Chillingham and south of the B6348 road, is again irregularly shaped, extending some north to south, and east to west. It is composed of parts of Chatton Moor in the north, Sandyford Moor in the centre and to the south-east, Rossbrough Moor and Wandylaw Bog; the site incorporates part of Wandylaw Wind Farm, and the

Chatton transmitting station The Chatton transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, between Wooler and Seahouses, Northumberland. It is owned and operated by Arqiva, and situated within the boundary of Bewick and Beanley Moors SSSI. Services li ...

. The moors rise very slowly from about and at the eastern boundary, to a number of local maxima ranging from to .

Vegetation

Bewick and Beanley Moors sit on

Fell Sandstone A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

of the

Border Group The Border Group is a Carboniferous lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in southern Scotland and northernmost England. The name is derived from the Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches ...

, falling from in the west to in the east, and are a nationally important example of a mosaic of habitats supporting a wide range of vegetation types associated with the transition from lowand to upland moors. The SSSI citation for the moors defines the principal vegetation and describes a number of specific landforms and transitional areas occurring throughout the site which give rise to specific local flora communities. The dominant flora of the site is characterised as a wet heath composed of heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

''), purple moor-grass (''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

''), cross-leaved heath (''

Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe ...

''), deergrass (''

Trichophorum cespitosum ''Trichophorum cespitosum'', commonly known as deergrass or tufted bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It was originally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as ''Scirpus cespitosus'', but was trans ...

''), bilberry (''

Vaccinium myrtillus ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortle ...

'') and tormentil (''

Potentilla erecta ''Potentilla erecta'' (syn. ''Tormentilla erecta'', ''Potentilla laeta'', ''Potentilla tormentilla'', known as the (common) tormentil, septfoil or erect cinquefoil ) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family (Rosaceae). Descri ...

''), and occasional bog-moss ('' Sphagnum capillifolium''). Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), Beanley Moor - geograph

A repeated feature of the moors, notably found in the central parts of Bewick Moor and at Beanley Moss, are bogs formed in the depressions and basins abounding throughout the site, and on flat land found on higher ground above valleys. The bogs - waterlogged peat accumulations - fall in type between basin mires and blanket bogs, and are an important factor in the significance of the site on their own account, as they transition to other landforms, and because they are the easternmost examples in Britain of such habitats. Bog sites on the moors give rise to heather, cross-leaved heath, common and hare’s-tail cotton-grasses (''

Eriophorum angustifolium ''Eriophorum angustifolium'', commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Northern Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soil ...

'' and '' E. vaginatum'') amongst a variety of bog-mosses including ('' Sphagnum papillosum''), ('' S. capillifolium'') and ('' S. magellanicum''). Less common are crowberry ('' Empetrum nigrum ssp. nigrum''), cranberry (''

Vaccinium oxycoccos ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate ...

''), bog asphodel (''

Narthecium ossifragum ''Narthecium ossifragum'', commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Nartheciaceae. It is native to Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about in eleva ...

'') and round-leaved sundew (''

Drosera rotundifolia ''Drosera rotundifolia'', the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribut ...

''). Transitional bogs sites of the sort found on the moors, within heathland, are uncommon and give rise to noteworthy flora. At a bog site west of Cateran Hill there is a transition into a fen supporting bottle-sedge (''

Carex rostrata ''Carex rostrata'', the bottle sedge or beaked sedge, is a perennial species of sedge in the family Cyperaceae. Range and habitat The species is native to Holarctic fens and can be found in Canada and the northern part of the United States, and ...

''), marsh cinquefoil (''

Potentilla palustris ''Comarum palustre'' (syn. ''Potentilla palustris''), known by the common names purple marshlocks, swamp cinquefoil and marsh cinquefoil, is a common waterside shrub. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout North America, Europe, ...

''), and the bog-moss ('' Sphagnum fallax''). A Quarryhouse Moor example shows a transition from bog to an area of purple moor-grass, bottle sedge, star and carnation sedges (''

Carex echinata ''Carex echinata'' is a species of sedge known by the common names star sedge and little prickly sedge. Description ''Carex echinata'' has a solid, ridged stem that may exceed in height and it has a few thready leaves toward the base. The inflo ...

'' and'' C. panicea''), bog-moss (''

Sphagnum palustre ''Sphagnum palustre'' (Syn. ''Sphagnum cymbifolium''), the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus ''Sphagnum'', in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 3 ...

''), and related species. Watercourses across the site support soft or sharp-flowered rush (''

Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''. Distribution ' ...

'' and '' J. acutiflorus''), haircap moss (''

Polytrichum commune ''Polytrichum commune'' (also known as common haircap, great golden maidenhair, great goldilocks, common haircap moss, or common hair moss) is a species of moss found in many regions with high humidity and rainfall. The species can be exceptiona ...

''), and occasional associated flora such as star-sedge, marsh pennywort (''

Hydrocotyle vulgaris ''Hydrocotyle vulgaris'', the marsh pennywort, common pennywort, water naval, money plant, lucky plant or copper coin, is a small creeping aquatic perennial plant native to North Africa, Europe, the Caucasus and parts of the Levant. Description ...

'') and bogbean (''

Menyanthes trifoliata ''Menyanthes'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species ''Menyanthes trifoliata''. The North American form is often referred to as ''M. trifoliata'' var. ''minor'' Michx. It is known ...

''). Rich wetlands occur especially at the east of the moors and have species mixes arising in part out of the effects of a limestone understratum dominated by purple moor-grass with, in less-grazed areas, bog-myrtle (''

Myrica gale ''Myrica gale'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae, native to parts of Japan, North Korea, Russia, mainland Europe, the British Isles and parts of northern North America, in Canada and the United States. Common names include ...

''), and in more-grazed areas, cross-leaved heath and tormentil, with sweet vernal-grass (''

Anthoxanthum odoratum ''Anthoxanthum odoratum'', known as sweet vernal grass, is a short-lived perennial grass that is native to acidic grassland in Eurasia and northern Africa. It is grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be f ...

''), Yorkshire fog (''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

''), compact rush (''

Juncus conglomeratus ''Juncus conglomeratus'', known commonly as compact rush, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae.Achillea ptramica''), marsh thistle (''

Cirsium palustre ''Cirsium palustre'', the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial (or often perennial) flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. ''Cirsium palustre'' is a tall thistle which reaches up to in height. The strong stems ha ...

'') and wild angelica (''

Angelica sylvestris ''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale p ...

''), and limestone indicators including carnation, glaucous and flea sedges (Carex panicea, '' C. flacca'' and '' C. pulicaris''), fen bedstraw ('' Galium uliginosum''), tufted vetch (''

Vicia cracca ''Vicia cracca'' (tufted vetch, cow vetch, bird vetch, blue vetch, boreal vetch), is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia. It occurs on other continents as an introduced species, includ ...

'') and moss (''

Hylocomium splendens ''Hylocomium splendens'', commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a Perennial plant, perennial Clone (plant), clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere borea ...

''). The site has local wetland areas strongly influenced by limestone characterised by marsh valerian (''

Valeriana dioica ''Valeriana dioica'', the marsh valerian, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Valeriana ''Valeriana'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, members of which may by commonly known as valerians. It contains many ...

''), butterwort (''

Pinguicula vulgaris ''Pinguicula vulgaris'', the common butterwort, is a perennial carnivorous plant in the bladderwort family, Lentibulariaceae. Description It grows to a height of 3–16 cm, and is topped with a purple, and occasionally white, flower that is ...

''), lesser club-moss (''

Selaginella selaginoides ''Selaginella selaginoides'' is a non-flowering plant of the spikemoss genus ''Selaginella'' with a wide distribution around the Northern Hemisphere. It resembles a moss in appearance but is a vascular plant belonging to the division (botany), di ...

''), grass-of-Parnassus (''

Parnassia palustris ''Parnassia palustris'', the marsh grass of Parnassus, northern grass-of-Parnassus, or just grass-of-Parnassus, and bog star, is a flowering plant in the staff-vine family Celastraceae. It is the county flower of Cumberland in England, and appea ...

''), dioecious sedge (''

Carex dioica ''Carex dioica'', the dioecious sedge (a name it shares with ''Carex sterilis''), is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Carex'', native to Iceland, the Faroes, Svalbard, nearly all of Europe, western Siberia, and the Altai. It prefers to ...

''), few-flowered spike-rush (''

Eleocharis quinqueflora ''Eleocharis quinqueflora'' is a species of spikesedge known by the common names fewflower spikerush and few-flowered spike-rush. It is widespread across Europe, North Africa, northern Asia (Siberia, China, Kazakhstan, Himalayas, etc.), and Nor ...

'') and black bog-rush (''

Schoenus nigricans ''Schoenus nigricans'' is a species of sedge known by the common names black bog-rush''Schoenus ni ...

''). Dry limestone flora are for the most part not found on the moors, with the exception of areas of mat-grass (''

Nardus stricta ''Nardus'' is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species ''Nardus stricta'', known as matgrass. It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek ' () from ...

''). Rocky outcrops on the site, when accompanied by free draining soil, provide habitat for heather, bilberry and bell-heather (''

Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...

''), with local dry-heath cowberry (''

Vaccinium vitis-idaea ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

'') and petty-whin (''

Genista anglica ''Genista anglica'', the petty whin, needle furze or needle whin, is a shrubby flowering plant of the family Fabaceae which can be found growing in Cornwall, Wales and eastern Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, ...

''). Lesser twayblade (''

Listera cordata ''Neottia cordata'', the lesser twayblade or heartleaf twayblade, is an orchid of upland bogs and mires that rarely exceeds in height. It was formerly placed in the genus '' Listera'', but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that ''Neot ...

'') is found in association with old collapsing heather bushes. Conifer plantations aside, the moors have little woodland cover; what exists is found on the boundaries and following the paths of streams at lower elevations. Species include alder (''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations whe ...

''), hawthorn (''

Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in ...

''), brown birch (''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

''), rowan (''

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...

'') and occasional ash (''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

''), and ground-cover of yellow pimpernel (''

Lysimachia nemorum ''Lysimachia nemorum'', the yellow pimpernel, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. Description ''Lysimachia nemorum'' is an evergreen creeping perennial herbaceous plant growing up to about 40 cm. The bright green leaves are ...

''), wood sorrel (''

Oxalis acetosella ''Oxalis acetosella'', the wood sorrel or common wood sorrel, is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the family ''Oxalidaceae'', common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The specific epithet ''acetosella'' refers to its sour taste. The common na ...

'') and smooth-stalked sedge (''

Carex laevigata ''Carex laevigata'', the smooth-stalked sedge, is a species of sedge. It lives in moist, shady environment in the lowlands of Western and Central Europe, particularly in alder–ash woodland. It is distinguished from similar species, such as '' ...

''). As with the bogs, so the woodland also provide transition locations, such as from wet birch-wood to purple moor-grass or to bogs of lesser pond-sedge (''

Carex acutiformis ''Carex acutiformis'', the lesser pond-sedge, is a species of sedge. Description It grows up to tall, with leaves up to long and wide. Ecology It is native to parts of northern and western Europe, where it grows in moist spots in a number of ...

''). Other wood species found include scrubs of eared sallow (''

Salix aurita ''Salix aurita'', the eared willow, is a species of willow distributed over much of Europe, and occasionally cultivated. It is a shrub to 2.5 m in height, distinguished from the similar but slightly larger ''Salix cinerea'' by its reddish ...

''), acid oakwood (''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial emble ...

''), and, notably one of the largest stands of juniper ('' Juniperus communis ssp. communis'') in the county at Hannah's Wood, west of Eglingham. Kimmer Lough, the largest of the many waterbodies across the moors, supports yellow water-lily (''

Nuphar lutea ''Nuphar lutea'', the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family ''Nymphaeaceae'', native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, western Asia, North America, and ...

'') and reed (''

Phragmites communis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

''), surrounded by a willow woodland with bog-myrtle. Quarryhouse Moor Ponds, to the north-east of the middle section of the site, is notable as habitat for amphibians including great crested, palmate and smooth newts (''

Triturus cristatus The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

'', '' T. helveticus'' and '' T. vulgaris''), the common frog (''

Rana temporaria The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian ...

'') and the common toad (''

Bufo bufo The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

''). Additional notable features of the site are the presence of the large heath butterfly (''

Coenonympha tullia ''Coenonympha tullia'', the large heath or common ringlet, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It flies in a variety of grassy habitats, including roadsides, woodland edges and clearings, prairies, bogs, and arctic and alpine taiga and tun ...

''), the upland bird population, and stands of bracken (''

Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'' (bracken, brake or common bracken), also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North America, the extreme lightness o ...

'') with chickweed wintergreen (''

Trientalis europaea ''Lysimachia europaea'' (formerly known as ''Trientalis europaea'') is a flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae, called by the common name chickweed-wintergreen or arctic starflower. It is a small herbaceous perennial plant with one ...

''). ;Condition Bewick and Beanley Moors SSSI is divided into 25 units for monitoring purposes. Inspecations in 2009 and 2014 find the condition of the majority of units to be 'unfavourable-recovering', with over-grazing and unfavourable heather-burning regimes being the main causal issues.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Natural England
SSSI record for Bewick and Beanley Moors Moorlands of England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Northumberland Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 2010

Location and natural features

Vegetation

See also

References

External links