Pittington Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham,

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 lies adjacent to the village of

Pittington Pittington is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles north-east of Durham. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 2,534. Pittington is made up of the neighbouring settlements of Low Pittingto ...

, some 6 km north-east of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

city. A disused quarry occupies part of the site. The hill slopes and former quarry support an extensive area of primary magnesian

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 ...

grassland. Blue moor-grass, '' Sesleria albicans'', a characteristic plant of such grassland, is present but not abundant in the primary grassland on the hill slopes, where herbs such as rock-rose, ''

Helianthemum nummularium ''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical si ...

'', are more common; blue moor-grass is more plentiful in the secondary grassland on the quarry floor and spoil heaps, where it is associated with species such as quaking grass, ''

Briza media ''Briza media'' is a perennial grass in the family Poaceae and is a species of the genus '' Briza''. Common name includes quaking-grass, common quaking grass, cow-quake, didder, dithering-grass, dodder-grass, doddering dillies, doddle-grass, ear ...

'', salad burnet, ''

Sanguisorba minor ''Sanguisorba minor'', the salad burnet, garden burnet, small burnet, burnet (also used for ''Sanguisorba'' generally), pimpernelle, Toper's plant, and burnet-bloodwort, is an edible perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae. It has fe ...

'', and autumn gentian, ''

Gentianella amarella ''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, ...

''.

References

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham Mountains and hills of County Durham Pittington {{Durham-geo-stub