Middle Crossthwaite 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 Teesdale

Teesdale (district)

Teesdale was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. Its council was based in Barnard Castle and it was named after the valley of the River Tees....

 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...

. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tees

River Tees

The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...

, about 1.5 km upstream from the village of Middleton-in-Teesdale

Middleton-in-Teesdale

Middleton-in-Teesdale is a small 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 Park End Wood

Park End Wood

Park End Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of west County Durham, England. The site occupies a low hill of Whin Sill on the southern edge of the River Tees floodplain just over 2 km upstream from the village of Middleton-in-Teesdale...

 and Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows

Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows

Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of County Durham, England. It consists of two separate areas, one to the north of the River Tees, the other on the south bank, about 2 km upstream from the village of Middleton-in-Teesdale...

 SSSIs lie on the same stretch of floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

, while the higher ground to the south is part of the Upper Teesdale

Upper Teesdale

Upper Teesdale is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of west County Durham, England. It encompasses an extensive upland area that includes the headwaters of the River Tees and the surrounding catchment area upstream of the village of Langdon Beck.The site has a diverse...

 SSSI.

The site contains a complex mix of habitats, mainly hay

Hay

Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...

 meadows, upland wood pasture

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

 and base-rich flushes. Hay meadows are a diminishing habitat, which is threatened by modern agricultural practices, and those at Middle Crossthwaite are among the richest in species in Upper Teesdale.

A wide variety of grasses and herbs are present in the meadows, including the locally rare melancholy thistle, Cirsium helenioides, globe flower, Trollius europaeus, and alpine bistort, Polygonum viviparum. In the areas of wood pasture, typical tree species include ash, Fraxinus excelsior, hazel, Corylus avellana

Corylus avellana

Corylus avellana, the Common Hazel, is a species of hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Iberia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, north to central Scandinavia, and east to the central Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. It is an important component of...

, and blackthorn, Prunus spinosa

Prunus spinosa

Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....

, over an understorey which includes foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

Digitalis purpurea

Digitalis purpurea , is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae , native to most of Europe.-Description:...

, bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scriptus, and wood sorrel, Oxalis acetosella.