Great Asby Scar is 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) and National Nature Reserve in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, UK. It is an area of

limestone pavement A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK and Ireland, where many of these landforms have developed dist ...

, south of the village of

Great Asby Great Asby is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it is located approximately south east of Penrith and approximately south of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Its name is said to be derived from the non, askr, meaning as ...

History

A "scar" is the local name for a

⁠—an area of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

rock which has been eroded by an overlying

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at Las ...

during the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

and then fissured by rain to form a flat rocky pattern which resembles man-made pavement. Many limestone pavements in the UK have been exploited by quarrying but this example is comparatively extensive and unspoilt. The overall area of pavement covers about and is called the Westmorland Scars. Great Asby Scar is in the centre of this region. Other scars include Orton Scar, Grange Scar, and Little Asby Scar.

Site location and designation

It is in the

Orton Fells The Orton Fells is an upland area in Northern England, mostly consisting of limestone hills, plateaus and moorlands. Historically in Westmorland, the area lies within the modern county of Cumbria and is bounded by the Lake District to the west, ...

in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Eden, near the village of

. Great Asby Scar was first designated as a

in 1969 and the designation covers an area of about . It was also designated as a National Nature Reserve in 1976 and that designation covers an area of about . A walled settlement was constructed on a small plateau, covering an area of about 1.25 acres. This is known as Castle Folds and, as it dates back to Roman times, is protected as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Flora

The region has been described as a matrix of both

acidic In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

and alkaline grassland, dominated by blue moor-grass and matgrass. Various other species have been known to exist in this region, including rare species of buckler ferns and limestone ferns. As the area is quite exposed, the vegetation tends to grow in the crevices between the limestone blocks which are known as

gryke A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial Sidewalk, pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK and Ireland, where many of these landforms have devel ...

s. Notable species include

autumn gentian ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States ...

, helleborines and Solomon's Seal.

Fauna

The area is quite bleak and barren. The most notable creature is a rare snail, '' Vitrea subrimata''.

References

External links

*{{Commons category inline, Great Asby Scar Limestone formations of the United Kingdom National nature reserves in England Nature reserves in Cumbria Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria Eden District