Leg 11Saur Hill Bridge to Middleton-in-Teesdale

Start of Roof of England Walk Leg 11 – Saur Hill Bridge to Middleton-in-Teesdale.

If you look across the Harwood Beck to the southwest you will see the crags of Cronkley Scar. This dramatic feature in Upper Teesdale is made out of whinstone (a form of dolerite). It formed 295 million years ago when molten rock solidified underground. After millions of years of erosion it is now exposed at the surface.

Notice that Wheysike House, on the other side of the Harwood Beck, is whitewashed. This indicates that it is part of Raby Estate, owned by Lord Barnard of Raby Castle. Legend records that a former Duke of Cleveland was refused shelter in a Teesdale farmhouse, which he thought he owned. Feeling humiliated he decided that all of his buildings should be painted white to allow easy identification.

Between April and early June you might see these small (15-30mm across), deep-blue flowers on this bank beside the Harwood Beck. Best seen on warm, bright days, look out for a delicate plant with a solitary, intense-blue flower, like a tiny, five-pointed star. It is a striking symbol of Teesdale and is found in only a few other places in Great Britain, such as the Burren in Western Ireland.

Notice that the Harwood Beck/Langdon Beck joins forces with the River Tees here. Just over 80 miles (130km) later the rushing water you see here reaches the North Sea at Tees Mouth, Middlesbrough.

As you cross over the Tees you are entering one of the largest National Nature Reserves in England. Moor House-Upper Teesdale is famous for its unique Arctic-Alpine plants which have survived in this part of northern England since the last Ice Age. The reserve encompasses an almost complete range of typical upland habitats typical of the North Pennines – from hay meadows to summit heaths.

As you reach the top of the short, rocky, climb notice the prickly, evergreen shrubs. You have entered England’s largest juniper wood. Some of the bushes are pretty vintage, over 250 years old. This wood is a relic of the woods that grew here after the ice age ended around 15,000 years ago. Berries on the bushes provide welcome food for mice, voles and migrating birds like fieldfares.

Force Garth Quarry opened in 1932 and is the sole remaining whinstone (dolerite) quarry in the North Pennines. The quarry produces between 250,000 and 300,000 tonnes a year.

If you glance to your right as you cross the footbridge opposite Force Garth Quarry you will see the waters of the Blea Beck tumbling over Bleabeck Force.

Take care as you approach the top of High Force – one of the most impressive waterfalls in England. Be aware of natural hazards, sheer drops, slippery rocks and fast-flowing water. High Force is considered to be the biggest waterfall in England - by volume of water dropping 21m over the Whin Sill lip. J.M.W Turner painted it in 1822 and people are still drawn to witness its sheer power.

High Force plunges over the Whin Sill – a hard dolerite rock. Below the Whin Sill you can see layers of sandstone and limestone, part of the sequence of rocks that make up most of the North Pennine landscape. ‘Force’ comes from ‘foss’, the Old Norse word for waterfall.

The v-shaped notch on the skyline is called Coldberry Gutter. This huge landscape feature was probably first cut by flowing water as glaciers melted at the end of the last ice age. A lead vein also runs through it which was worked by miners from at least the mid-18th century.

Keep your eyes open as you walk along this stretch of the river as you are quite likely to see dippers. Look for a compact, short-tailed, bird with a characteristic whirring flight. When it perches on rocks it tends to bob up and down, with its tail sticking up. Its white breast contrasts with darker body plumage. They dive in and out of the rapids hunting insect larvae and freshwater shrimps.

Low Force tumbles over the Whin Sill, a layer of hard rock called dolerite, known locally as whinstone. The Whin Sill formed 295 million years ago, when molten rock rose up from within the Earth and spread out between layers of limestone, sandstone and shale. The molten rock cooled and hardened underground. Millions of years of erosion have exposed the Whin Sill at the surface here at Low Force.

The Wynch Bridge was originally built, in 1741, so that lead miners from Holwick could cross the river to work in mines on the north side of Teesdale. In August 1802, as a party of haymakers was crossing, one of the chains snapped; three men fell into the river and one drowned. It was repaired, but in 1830 it was replaced by the present bridge.

The best displays of bluebells, near Low Force, are found here. If you’re walking in late April or early May you are likely to see them at their best. Please stick to the path – bluebells can take many years to recover from being trampled. Because they flower earlier than many other plants they are very beneficial to bees, butterflies and hoverflies which all feed of their nectar.

In the fields on your right there are two gated mine entrances with small spoil heaps. These are old trial mines which explored some minor mineral veins. The miners were originally looking for lead ore, but there is very little in the veins here. The veins are, however, rich in zinc and iron ores. Unfortunately the deposits were not large enough to be worked economically.

Cross the bridge over the Tees and have a look for fossils in the flat Cockleshell Limestone outcrop by the river. The picture is a cross section of a crinoid stem. Crinoids were anchored to the sea floor and swayed in the currents, catching particles of food with bony arms. They are common fossils in North Pennine limestones. Tip: splash some water on the fossils to make them stand out.

In early summer hay meadows like this one are full of colourful wild flowers like yellow rattle, meadow buttercup and red clover. The North Pennines has over 40% of the UK’s upland hay meadows, which survive because many farmers practise traditional low-intensity farming methods.

The quarry you can see from here is a disused whinstone quarry called Crossthwaite Quarry. It is one of two old quarries off the road between Middleton and Holwick. In the 1920s it employed nearly 150 men. The whinstone was used to make ‘setts’ i.e. brick-shaped blocks used to cobble roads. It was ideal for this use because whinstone is a very hard rock.

When the bluebells bloom in late April-early May you can be confident that spring is in full flow in the North Pennines. This section, with fringes of woodland, is an especially good for a bluebell display. Bluebells are associated with ancient woodland – so if you see them it is possible that there’s been woodland thereabouts since 1600.

Ash trees are very prominent in the Teesdale landscape – often occurring as field trees. As the fungal disease, ash dieback, spreads it is likely that the visual character of the dale will change. However, it is thought that 1-5% of trees may show reasonable tolerance of the disease – so there is hope that this iconic English tree species could eventually recover.

Finish of Roof of England Walk Leg 11 – Saur Hill Bridge to Middleton-in-Teesdale.