Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the

Derwentside Derwentside was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. The district took its name from the River Derwent, which made up part of the northern border of the district. Its main towns were Consett and Stanley, ...

district of north County Durham and the

Tynedale __NOTOC__ Tynedale is an area and former local government district in south-west Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 Census. Its main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. Th ...

district of south

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It consists of two separate areas of woodland, one in the gorge of the River Derwent and the other in the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

, the Horsleyhope Burn, south-east of the village of

Muggleswick Muggleswick is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the west of Consett. the population was 130 at the 2001 Census reducing to 113 at the 2011 Census. The village has a num ...

. On the dry acidic soils of the upper slopes, the woodland is dominated by sessile oak, ''

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 embl ...

''. Some areas have been

coppiced Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

in the past but where the slopes are steepest, and least accessible, there appears to have been no human interference.

References

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Northumberland Canyons and gorges of England {{Durham-geo-stub