Hawthorn Dene is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in the Easington

Easington (district)

Easington was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in eastern County Durham, England. It contained the settlements of Easington, Seaham, Peterlee, Murton, Horden, Blackhall, Wingate and Castle Eden...

 district of County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The site occupies the incised valley

Dene (valley)

A Dene, derived from the Old English denu and frequently spelled dean, used to be a common name for a valley, in which sense it is frequently found as a component of English place-names, such as Rottingdean and Ovingdean....

 of Hawthorn Burn and extends from just south of the village of Hawthorn

Hawthorn, County Durham

Hawthorn is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated between Seaham and Easington.The only noticeable location in the village of Hawthorn is the Staplyton Arms, a small public house situated in roughly the centre of the village....

 eastward as far as the Durham Coast railway line

Durham Coast Line

The Durham Coast Line is the name given to the railway line which links Newcastle upon Tyne with Middlesbrough, via Sunderland and Hartlepool...

: the area between the railway line and the sea forms part of the Durham Coast SSSI.

Much of the area consists of semi-natural and relatively undisturbed woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 that has developed on magnesian limestone

Magnesian limestone

Magnesian limestone can refer to:* For the rock made of magnesium carbonate ie Magnesian limestone see dolomite or dolostone* For the traditional name of a specific suite of Permian age rocks in north-east England see Magnesian Limestone...

; within Durham, only Castle Eden Dene

Castle Eden Dene

Castle Eden Dene is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve in the Easington district of County Durham, England. It is located immediately south of Peterlee, between the A19 and A1086 roads....

 SSSI has a largest area under this type of vegetation. At the eastern end of the dene, the woodland gives way to magnesian limestone grassland, while at the western end there is an area of tall fen vegetation.

Much of the woodland is dominated by ash, Fraxinus excelsior, but in places wych elm, Ulmus glabra is dominant; such woodland is scarce in Durham. Another notable feature is the occurrence of yew, Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...

, on the lower valley slopes, this being rare in Britain.