Burnhope Seat

Burnhope Seat is a high moorland fell 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 and ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in northern

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 between the heads of the

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s Tees,

South Tyne South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

and

Wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in ...

. The summit is crossed by the boundary between County Durham and

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. C ...

(historically Cumberland). The

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

is the highest point in

historic History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

County Durham. However, this is not quite the summit of the mountain (which lies 400 m west and 1 m higher across the border into historic Cumberland).

Mickle Fell Mickle Fell is a mountain in the Pennines, the range of hills and moors running down the middle of Northern England. It has a maximum elevation of . It lies slightly off the main watershed of the Pennines, about south of Cross Fell. After Cro ...

, south of

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls b ...

is higher than Burnhope Seat and is sometimes quoted as being the highest top of County Durham, but this is historically not correct. Mickle Fell, although it lies within the unitary council area of Durham County Council for administrative purposes, is historically a part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, and is the highest point in that county. The character of the fell is very typical of the high Pennines, with an extensive and poorly drained summit plateau of

tussock grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perenni ...

and

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

. The

B6277 road B6 often refers to: * Vitamin B6 B6 may also refer to: Transportation Automobiles * A generation of Audi A4, manufactured from 2001 to 2005 * A fully armoured version of the Bentley Arnage Series Two RL * A member of the Mazda B engine series ...

between Alston and

Middleton-in-Teesdale Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale between Eggleston and Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of Barnard Castle. The settlement is surrounded by the North Pennin ...

passes within 2 km of the summit, thus providing the easiest route of ascent. The hill may also be climbed from

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. Th ...

as part of high-level circuit of Burnhope Reservoir. There are some

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

-tows on the northwest slopes of the hill - this forms the ''Yad Moss'' ski facility,Yad Moss snow slope
/ref> which has recently been upgraded by

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

. The entire area is designated "access land" under the terms of the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act imp ...

. Marilyns of England Hewitts of England Mountains and hills of the Pennines Mountains and hills of Cumbria Mountains and hills of County Durham Nuttalls Highest points of English counties Ski areas and resorts in England Eden District Stanhope, County Durham {{Durham-geo-stub