Warton_Crag_Quarry,_Warton_Crag,_Sept_2015

Warton Crag is a limestone hill in north west

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England. It lies to the north west of Warton village, in

City of Lancaster The City of Lancaster () is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area, which includes the to ...

district. At it is the highest point in the Arnside and Silverdale

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

, and is listed as a "

HuMP The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

" or "Hundred Metre Prominence", having a "drop" or "prominence" of with its parent being

Hutton Roof Crags Hutton Roof Crags is a hill in south-eastern Cumbria in north-west England, located near to the village of Hutton Roof. It has extensive areas of limestone pavement as well as grassland and woodland. The hill forms the Hutton Roof Crags Site ...

. Two areas are Local Nature Reserves, called Warton Crag and Warton Crag Quarry. Different sections are owned by Lancashire County Council, the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, Lancaster City Council and the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thr ...

. Two caves on the west side of the hill called Dog Holes and Badger Hole show signs of early human occupation, with excavations finding a range of artefacts. The summit of the hill is the site of a small multivallate hillfort, which has long been assumed to date to the Iron Age period. The approximately enclosure was defended by rock scarps and steep slopes to the south and west with triple stone ramparts forming an arc on the other sides. However research by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

in 2016 using lidar proposed that the structure was instead "some form of non-defensive hilltop enclosure, possibly dating to the Late Bronze Age." ''Includes link to full report as .pdf'' Beacon on Warton Crag - geograph

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

was erected on the crag in 1988 as part of a re-enactment of the beacon chain alerting the country to the Spanish Armada, on its 400th anniversary. It was lit again in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, in 2016 for her 90th birthday, and in 2022 for her

Platinum Jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other C ...

. Many plants are found on the crag, including

horseshoe vetch ''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clumps ...

near its northern limit,

spindle tree ''Euonymus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the staff vine family, Celastraceae. Common names vary widely among different species and between different English-speaking countries, but include spindle (or spindle tree), burning-bush, strawb ...

and many ferns. The site is rich in butterflies, including the rare pearl bordered fritillary and

high brown fritillary ''Fabriciana adippe'', the high brown fritillary, is a large and brightly colored butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, native to Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan. It is known for being Great Britain's most threatened butterfly and is li ...

. Much of the hill is listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, being considered the best example of

limestone grassland 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 when th ...

in Lancashire, with areas 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 dis ...

. The former quarry on the west of the crag is a regular breeding site for peregrine falcons and is protected by a Falcon Watch team of volunteers. The crag is used by rock-climbers, and a fell race on the crag takes place annually as part of Warton Children's Sports Day.

References

External links

Arnside and Silverdale AONB page on Warton CragA Guide to Warton Crag Nature Reserves
pdf of 20-page leaflet including map
Warton Crag Quarry LNR Management Plan 2020 - 2025Lake District Bouldering map
''Click on green star at south of map, north of Carnforth, for Warton Crag information'' {{City of Lancaster geography Mountains and hills of Lancashire Local Nature Reserves in Lancashire Geography of the City of Lancaster Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Lancashire Scheduled monuments in Lancashire

See also

References

External links