Teesdale is a

dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *D ...

, or

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

, in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. The dale is in the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has bee ...

’s

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls between the Durham and Yorkshire Dales. Large parts of Upper Teesdale are in the

North Pennines The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley an ...

AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The

rises below Cross Fell, the highest hill in the Pennines at , and its uppermost valley is remote and high. The local climate was scientifically classified as "Sub-Arctic" and snow has sometimes lain on Cross Fell into June (there is an alpine ski area Yad Moss). Lower Teesdale has mixed urban (

Tees Valley Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was establishe ...

Teesside Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Historically a hub for heavy manu ...

) and rural (

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

) parts. Roseberry Topping is a notable hill on the south eastern side, of which this and other adjoining hills form the northern end of the North York Moors. Newer terms have gained stronger associations with separate parts of the valley due to their use as specific political constituencies and authorities.

Geology

Unusually for the Pennines, rock of

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...

origin (the Whin Sill) contributes to the surface geology and scenery of Upper Teesdale. Around 295 million years ago upwelling

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...

spread through fissures and between

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

in the earlier

Carboniferous Limestone Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period. These rocks formed between 363 ...

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

. As it cooled (an event which is believed to have lasted 50 years) the rock contracted and caused itself to split into vertical columns. The heating of the limestone above the rock also caused it to be turned into a crumbly marble known as ''Sugar Limestone''. High Cup Nick - geograph

Economic deposits in Llandovery rocks include soft shales that were previously worked to be used as slate pencils. More recently,

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

glacial activity shaped the valley, and much of the pre-glacial river course is now buried beneath glacial drift.

Botany

In places this impervious

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

rock, with shallow soil above it, prevented the growth of scrub or trees: this enabled certain post-glacial Arctic / Alpine plants to survive here when elsewhere as a rule they were overgrown. The ''Sugar Limestone'' formed by thermal

metamorphism Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of ...

of the limestone into which the Whin Sill was intruded also meets the requirements of some of these plants. Teesdale is famous among naturalists for the "Teesdale Assemblage" of plants found together here that occur widely separated in other locations, abroad or in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

High Cup Nick with light dusting of snow - geograph

Part of Upper Teesdale near the Cow Green Reservoir is designated a National Nature Reserve; it contains the unique Teesdale Violet and the blue

Spring Gentian ''Gentiana verna'', the spring gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae, and one of its smallest members, normally only growing to a height of a few centimetres. The short stem supports up to three opposing pairs of e ...

as well as more common Pennine flowers such as rockrose, spring sandwort, mountain pansy, bird's-eye primrose and butterwort. Hay meadows in the valley above High Force, some now carefully cultivated to ensure this, contain an extremely rich variety of flowering plants including globe flower, wood cranesbill and Early Purple Orchid. On the south bank of the Tees near High Force can be seen the largest surviving juniper wood in England.

Geography and history

Over ledges in the Whin Sill fall the famous waterfalls of High Force and Low Force and the cataract of Cauldron Snout. The Tees then reaches and passes between

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automa ...

and

Startforth Startforth is a village on the Pennines end of south Teesdale, England. The population of Startforth taken at the 2011 Census was 1,361. It is Historic counties of England, historically located in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the ...

, thereafter passing to the south of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

, through the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and north of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, reaching the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

between the boroughs of

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

and Redcar & Cleveland. The Skerne runs through Darlington while the Leven starts and runs between Yarm and Ingleby Barwick in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees then through Stokesley then Great Ayton in the Hambleton District borough. Teesdale - geograph

West Teesdale's principal town and most populous settlement is

, a historic market town that is home to the renowned Bowes Museum. It also includes the small town of Middleton-in-Teesdale and a number of villages, including Mickleton,

Eggleston Eggleston is a village in County Durham, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 448. It is situated in Teesdale, a few miles north-west of Barnard Castle. Etymology The second element of ''Eggleston'' is ...

, Romaldkirk and Cotherstone. Middleton was a lead-mining centre, and plentiful traces of this industry can be seen round the adjoining slopes and side-valleys. On the south side of Teesdale looms the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

burial site of Kirkcarrion. East Teesdale has been described as being the area between the a point west of Darlington and Teesmouth, where the Tees flows through flatter country, which is also known also as

. Middlesbrough is the most populous town in the valley as a whole. The valley runs roughly parallel to

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales ...

(including Bishop Auckland and Sunderland),

Durham Dales The Durham Dales is the name given to a large area of landscape in the west of County Durham, consisting primarily of the Durham portion of the North Pennines, in England. Geography The Durham Dales consist primarily of a series of high expo ...

on the northern side and south is Swaledale (including Richmond), Yorkshire Dales to the west and the Cleveland Hills, North York Moors to the east. Teesdale gave its name to the former Teesdale district of County Durham, although the south side of Teesdale lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Formerly the

Startforth Rural District Startforth Rural District was a rural district in the North Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire in the Pennines of northern England. It was formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. It constituted the part of the Teesdale Rur ...

, it was transferred to County Durham for administrative and

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular ...

purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. All of West Teesdale lies within the parliamentary constituency of Bishop Auckland (County Durham).

Uses in local culture

* Teesdale (district), County Durham *

Teesdale Allotments Teesdale Allotments is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of County Durham, England. It consists of two large upland areas north of the Tees valley, one to the north and east of the village of Newbiggin, the other to ...

, Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district *

Teesdale Mercury The ''Teesdale Mercury'' is a family-owned rural weekly newspaper in County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. ...

, newspaper * Middleton-in-Teesdale *

Forest-in-Teesdale Forest-in-Teesdale is a village in County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North E ...

* Teesdale School,

Teesdale Way The Teesdale Way is a long-distance walk between the Cumbrian Pennines and the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire in England. The walk is in length; it links in with other long-distance walks such as the Pennine Way and the E2 European Walk b ...

, path following the river Tees *Teesdale Iron Works, former name of defunct Head Wrightson large heavy industrial firm based at Thornaby-on-Tees ** Teesdale Business Park, on the site of the former works **Teesdale Park, Thornaby FC Ground

References

External links