Skiddaw Group SSSI 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 ...

in the Lake District High Fells,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its shape is approximately a rough circle centred near

Great Calva Great Calva is a fell in the Lake District, England. It is in the Northern Fells, lying roughly at the centre of this region of high ground. As a result, it is distant from roads and quite remote by Lakeland standards. Great Calva stands at ...

, with an area of . The high ground creates a

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

between the ''Caldew Operational Catchment'' with water flowing north towards

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, and the ''Ellen and West Coast'' and ''Derwent Operational Catchments'' flowing towards the west coast at

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

and

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

. The SSSI is designated for its flora and fauna, and for its geology. The geology includes the

Skiddaw Group The Skiddaw Group is a group (stratigraphy), group of sedimentary rock formations named after the mountain Skiddaw in the England, English Lake District. The rocks are almost wholly Ordovician in age (Tremadocian, Tremadoc through Arenig to Ord ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

formations, and the Caldbeck Fells former mining area.

Fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...

s above 650m include High Pike, Carrock Fell, Knott,

, and Bowscale Fell. The highest peaks are in the

Skiddaw Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is traditionally considered to be the List of Wainwrights, fourth-highest peak but depending on what topographic prominence is thought to be significant is also ...

area, including Skiddaw itself, Long Side, Carl Side, Little Man,

Lonscale Fell Lonscale Fell is a hill in the English Lake District. Its pointed second top is instantly recognisable, standing at the eastern end of the Skiddaw massif. The fell is easily climbed from Keswick or from Skiddaw House to the north. Although now ...

and, further east,

Blencathra Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly of the Cumbrian Mountains, in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at . Name For many years, Ordnance Surv ...

. The SSSI is divided into "units" which are used as the level of geographic detail for reporting overall features and conditions. Each unit is identified by the Ordnance Survey grid reference at the centre of the unit, its area in hectares, the date it was last surveyed, and the drainage catchment it is located in. For example ''Bassenthwaite Common'', which is unit 27, is nearly centred at in the ''Dash beck'' catchment. The habitat is there is ''dwarf shrub heath'' which, when surveyed in November 2010, was in an "unfavourable – recovering" condition.

Skiddaw Forest

Skiddaw Forest is the ancient name of an expanse of land to the east of Skiddaw summit, with the word "

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

" referring here to a medieval pattern of land ownership. In 2024 the forest area within the Underskiddaw civil parish area, essentially SSSI units 30 and 31 together with the summits of Skiddaw and Great Calva, was purchased by

Cumbria Wildlife Trust Cumbria Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cumbria, in North West England. It runs more than 40 nature reserves, and aims to broaden the awareness and knowledge of the wildlife in the county. History The trust was establis ...

as a nature reserve. The long term

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and

rewilding Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also d ...

goals include encouraging tree growth to create tracts of

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

, and restoring

peatland A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

s. Unit 30, ''Skiddaw Forest West'', was assessed in 2021 as having "favourable" conditions for invertebrate and breeding bird features, but "unfavourable – recovering" blanket bog and upland dry heath habitats. Conditions in unit 31, ''Skiddaw Forest East'' were assessed as "favourable" in 2021.

Caldbeck Fells mines

The SSSI designation includes a number of sites of former mines, noted today for the presence of minerals in spoil heaps and erosion sites. Spoil heaps at Red Gill Mine () include rare, crystallised lead sulphates, carbonates and phosphates. An adjacent mine at Roughtongill () reveals

supergene A supergene is a chromosomal region encompassing multiple neighboring genes that are inherited together because of close genetic linkage, i.e. much less recombination than would normally be expected. This mode of inheritance can be due to genomic ...

minerals including copper and zinc varieties. English Heritage undertook a detailed survey of Roughtongill in 2001 and reported on its history and archaeology. Dry Gill Lead Mine () has a unique form of

mimetite Mimetite is a lead arsenate chloride mineral () which forms as a secondary mineral in lead deposits, usually by the Redox, oxidation of galena and arsenopyrite. The name derives from the Greek ''mimetes'', meaning "imitator" and refers to mimeti ...

, known as '

campylite Campylite is a variety of the lead arsenate mineral mimetite which received the name from the Greek language, Greek 'kampylos'- bent, on account of the barrel-shaped bend of its crystals. It has also been used as an alternate name for pyromorphite. ...

'. Natural England surveyed the site (SSSI Unit 10) in 2022 and found the exposed mineral veins had been damaged by collectors in the past but not recently. Burdell Gill () "is of national importance as the only relatively abundant source of the rare arsenic mineral,

pharmacosiderite Pharmacosiderite is a hydrated basic ferric arsenate, with the chemical formula K Fe4( As O4)3(O H)4·(6-7) H2O and a molecular weight of 873.38 g/mol. It consists of the elements arsenic, iron, hydrogen, potassium, sodium and oxygen. It has a ...

, in Britain." A vein at Wet Swine Gill () includes

stibnite Stibnite, sometimes called antimonite, is a sulfide mineral, a mineral form of antimony trisulfide ( Sb2 S3). It is a soft, metallic grey crystalline solid with an orthorhombic space group. It is the most important source for the metalloid an ...

and fuloppite but the 2022 survey (SSSI Unit 2) found that geological specimen collecting continued to cause damage. In the Carrock Mine – Brandy Gill spoil heaps () the mineralisation is

tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

-rich. The Carrock Tungsten Mine () and Carrock End Copper Mine are Scheduled Monuments. There are other mine sites not mentioned in the SSSI designation, such as in the wider Grainsgill area (), near to Carrock mine. A 2021 survey in that area (SSSI Unit 8) observed "

ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

igneous geological features". Breafell lead mine () was downstream from Redgill and Roughtongill on the Dale Beck, a tributary of the Whelpo. Driggith lead mine was downstream from Drygill mine. Sandbeck lead and copper mine () was north east of High Pike.

Caldew operational catchment

House at the foot of Carrock Fell - geograph

The Skiddaw Group SSSI includes the headwaters of the ''Whelpo (Cald) Beck'' and ''Caldew (upper)'' 'water bodies' (catchments). These are part of the ''Caldew operational catchment''. The '' Whelpo Beck'' catchment includes Brae Fell (), and the former mine sites at Red Gill and Roughtongill. When surveyed by Natural England in 2010, both mine sites (SSSI Units 3 and 11) were showing some signs of collector activity and erosion but were not considered to be under threat. The "dwarf shrub heath" habitats were surveyed in 2022 (SSSI Units 23 – Roughton Gill; 25 – Caldbeck North; and 26 – Brae Fell). They were all depleted by heavy grazing. Patches of

bilberry Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...

were observed on Brae Fell. The ''Caldew (upper)'' catchment accounts for 40% of the total area of the SSSI and the majority of its assessment units. The

River Caldew The River Caldew is a river running through Cumbria in England. The river rises high up on the northern flanks of Skiddaw, in the Northern Fells area of the English Lake District, and flows in a northerly direction until it joins the Rive ...

flows there between the Blencathra uplands in the south-east of the SSSI, and the Skiddaw and Caldbeck Fells uplands to the west and north. The catchment includes

() and Carrock Fell (). Around the edge of the catchment,

Skiddaw Little Man Skiddaw Little Man, also called Little Man, is a fell in the English Lake District; it is situated four kilometres north of the town of Keswick and reaches a height of . Topography Little Man is often overlooked and disregarded as an indepen ...

, and Bowscale Fell form watersheds with the catchments in the ''Derwent Operational Catchment'' area. It includes the former mine sites at Dry Gill Mine, Carrock Mine-Brandy Gill, Burdell Gill and Wet Swine Gill. It also includes Bowscale Tarn (), one of two glacial tarns in the SSSI, where quillwort isoetes lacustris, shoreweed littorella uniflora and water lobelia

lobelia dortmanna ''Lobelia dortmanna'', Dortmann's cardinalflower or water lobelia, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This stoloniferous herbaceous perennial aquatic plant with basal leaf-rosettes and flower stalks grows to ...

have been found. Heather moor predominates on sloping ground north and west of the River Caldew across several catchments. The east-facing slopes of Skiddaw, Little Man and Jenkin Hill exhibit degraded

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

heath.

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

scrub, which is a nationally rare habitat, is most extensive on the steep, rocky south-facing slopes of Carrock Fell ().

Derwent management catchment

The Skiddaw Group SSSI includes headwaters of the ''Derwent management catchment'', consisting of the ''Ellen (upper)'' catchment, which flows towards

, and a number of catchments flowing towards

: *''Dash Beck'' *''Derwent US Bassenthwaite Lake'' and ''Derwent DS Bassenthwaite'' *''Glenderaterra Beck'' *''Glenderamackin u/s Troutbeck'' and ''Glenderamackin (Greta)'' The ''Ellen (upper)'' catchment is at the north of the SSSI in the Uldale Fells. It is bounded by Longlands Fell, Lowthwaite Fell, Little and Great Sca Fells, Meal Fell and Great Cockup. Great Cockup () is known for fossils of dendroid graptolites. Tremadoc– Llanvirn geology is visible in the crags around Great Cockup. The heathland lacks species diversity and shows signs of heavy grazing. For catchment management purposes, the main water body is the Dale Gill which rises between Great and Little Cockup. The River Ellen's headwaters, with numerous small tributaries, drain the Uldale Fells and join Dale Gill beyond the SSSI boundary. Whitewater DashThe SSSI includes the headwaters of the ''Dash Beck'' catchment, including short lengths of Dash Beck itself, and of a number of its tributaries. The part of the catchment within the SSSI stretches from Great Sca Fell in the north-east to Ullock Pike away in the south-west, with the Whitewater Dash waterfall () where the

beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

crosses the catchment midway between the two. The area includes

Bakestall Bakestall is a fell in the English Lake District, it is situated north of Keswick in the quieter, even secluded northern sector of the national park known as ‘Back o’ Skiddaw’. Topography Bakestall reaches a height of and strictly s ...

where

empetrum nigrum ''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, mossberry, or, in western Alaska, Labrador, etc., blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Desc ...

is the dominant dwarf-shrub. It also includes Broad End which has "the best developed example f montane moss-grass heath in West Cumbriaat about " elevation. There are two monitoring units in the ''Dash beck'' catchment: ''Uldale South'' (SSSI Unit 19, ) has low species diversity with some areas recovering; ''Uldale North'' (SSSI Unit 18, ) includes

calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...

spp,

and erica tetralix but the sites are fragmented where they should be continuous. In the north-east of the catchment, the watershed is marked by Knott, Great Sca Fell, Meal Fell, and Great Cockup. The ''Glenderaterra Beck'' catchment includes ''Lonscale Fell'' (SSSI Unit 29, , surveyed 2024) and ''Blencathra North West'' (SSSI Unit 32, , surveyed 2019). Lonscale Fell ecology included some bracken and limited cover of ericoid shrubs in its "acidic grassland with bilberry" habitats. Blencathra North West had "blanket bog with abundant hare's-tail cotton grass and deer grass over locally abundant bog mosses". There is a small area of

scrub in ''Glenderamackin u/s Troutbeck'' on The Tongue (). The same catchment includes Scales Tarn (Blencathra), one of the two glacial tarns in the SSSI. The tarn has "low nutrient levels and sinherently species-poor." The area around the tarn has in the past been subject to heavy grazing. Mungrisdale East (SSSI Unit 35, ) includes

hare's-tail cottongrass ''Eriophorum vaginatum'', the hare's-tail cottongrass, tussock cottongrass, or sheathed cottonsedge, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout t ...

, abundant

sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

and a good population of serrated wintergreen. Young Wood (SSSI Unit 38, ) is protected by fencing to keep grazing animals away and the oak woodland is recovering.

Related activities

Special Area of Conservation

Skiddaw Group SSSI is a component of the Lake District High Fells, a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. The SAC covers a number of SSSIs but, within the Skiddaw Group, the SAC documentation identifies a range of habitats: * 4010 Northern Atlantic wet heaths with Erica tetralix * 4030 European dry heaths * 4060 Alpine and Boreal heaths * 5130 Juniperus communis formations on heaths or calcareous grasslands * 7130 Blanket bogs * 8110 Siliceous scree of the montane to snow levels (Androsacetalia alpinae and Galeopsietalia ladani)

Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are a UK government response to declining biodiversity. The local strategies are established to agree priorities and propose actions to reverse the decline. The Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy was developed following initial "Vision and Priority" workshops held in March 2024, with further consultation during 2025. The strategy includes the development of an interactive habitat map. The map shows where habitats need enhancing or, in worse cases, restoring. For example SSSI Unit 22 "Carrock Fell" includes an area of "moorland, heathland and montaine" habitat which would benefit from enhancement. However the south west edge of the unit is in worse condition so would need restoration.

United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan

The

United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was the UK government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The UK was the first country to produce a national Biodiversi ...

identified a range of priority habitats which occur across the UK. The Skiddaw Group SSSI has large areas of ''grass moorland'' and ''upland heath'', together with more fragmented areas of ''

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses ...

''. For example, the upland areas around Bannerdale Beck (SSSI Unit 35) contain of blanket bog, split across several smaller sites. More detailed mapping from DEFRA and the UK government open data resource shows the same areas of blanket bog but additionally shows areas where the habitat could be restored, where it could potentially be created, and where smaller areas could be used to re-join existing fragmented ones.

Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites

The

Geological Conservation Review The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee. It is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological ...

is produced by the UK's

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the Government of the United Kingdom and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Pro ...

. Their site list includes a number of locations within the SSSI.

Notes

References

{{reflist Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria