Bewick and Beanley Moors
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 Location within Northumberland
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| Area of Search | Northumberland |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | NU102225 |
| Coordinates | 55°29′54″N 1°51′13″W / 55.498205°N 1.853601°WCoordinates: 55°29′54″N 1°51′13″W / 55.498205°N 1.853601°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 3,434.95 hectares (8,500 acres) |
| Notification | 2010 |
| Location map | DEFRA MAGIC map |
| Natural England website | |
Bewick and Beanley Moors is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, in the north-east of England. The moors are asserted to be of national importance by Natural England for the extent, quality and diversity of upland types including heaths, fens, wet grassland, flushes, mires and blanket bogs, together creating an extensive mosaic habitat supporting an exceptional community of amphibians. The moors are important, too, for their relict juniper woodland and scrub.
Designated in 2010, Bewick and Beanley Moors incorporates within its boundaries two now denotified SSSIs, Hannah's Hill, Harehope (first notified in 1968) and Quarryhouse Moor Ponds (first notified in 1986).
Bewick and Beanley Moors, as defined for the purposes of the SSSI, are three distinct and non-contiguous moorland areas in north Northumberland, located to the north and north-west of Alnwick, and to the south-east of Wooler, extending to about 8.6 miles (13.8 km) north to south, and up to 3.8 miles (6.1 km) east to west. The moors are to the west of the A1, east of the A697 and south of the B6348 roads.
The southernmost section, south-east of Beanley, south of Eglingham and the B6346 road, and north of Bolton and Titlington, is an irregularly shaped area of moorland, some 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north to south, and 3.0 miles (4.8 km) east to west. It is composed of, from the west, Titlington Pike, a round hill rising from circa 170 metres (560 ft) to 288 metres (945 ft) above sea level; Titlington and Beanley Plantations and Beanley Moss, wetlands falling gently to the east from about 200 metres (660 ft) to 175 metres (574 ft); Beanley Moor, making up the majority of the area, wetlands falling very slowly from 175 metres (574 ft) to 125 metres (410 ft) before descending to about 90 metres (300 ft) at Kimmer and Huntersheugh Crags, a semicircle escarpment of steeply descending land with rock outcrops; and Kimmer Lough, a 3.2 hectares (7.9 acres) ovaloid kettle hole - a deep pond formed in the void remaining after a submerged glacial calf block melted - at circa 75 metres (246 ft) above sea level. Kimmer Crags, at the centre of the area, is 5.2 miles (8.4 km) north-east of Alnwick and 1.25 miles (2.01 km) south of Eglingham.
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Wikipedia