A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Allen and the Derwent. South of the Wear rises another high, heather- 

 covered ridge, the principal peaks of which are Chapel Fell Top 

 (2,294 feet) and Fendrith Hill (2,284 ^^^^) ? ^^^^ separates the valleys of 

 the Tees and the Wear, and the whole then gradually slopes away through 

 undulating moorland and wide-stretching commons down to the fertile 

 plains below. Altogether, there are fully twenty peaks which ascend 

 into the Upper Zone. The 900 feet contour line forming the lower limit 

 of the Middle Zone enters the county from the north, near Blanchland, 

 and follows the trend of the Derwent as far east as Cold Rowley, where it 

 bends sharply to the south, passing over the Wear valley near Wolsing- 

 ham, and extending thence as far as Egglestone. From this point the 

 contour line extends westwards up the Tees valley to Winch Bridge, and 

 up the Wear valley it reaches nearly to St. John's Chapel. This forms, 

 roughly, the boundary of the very high moorland region. 



On the upper slopes of these hills or ' fells ' the ground is often 

 very wet and boggy, and deep holes, the sides of which are covered with 

 ferns, mosses, and liverworts, may prove a dangerous pitfall for the 

 unwary. Spongy patches of bog-moss {Sphagnurr^ and Polytrichum, the 

 ling {Calluria vulgaris), heather [Erica 'Tetralix), the wind grass [Aira 

 flexuosa) with its graceful panicles supported on tall red stems, the fescue 

 [Festuca ovi/ia), 'J uncus si/uarrosus, Carex stellulata, the waving, feathery 

 tufts of the mat-grass {Nardus stricta), sweet vernal grass {Anthoxanthum 

 odoratum), bent-grass [Agrostis vulgaris), and the hard fern [Lamaria 

 SpicarU) cover the summit with a coarse vegetation, among which the 

 marsh violet {Viola palustris), the dainty little Potentilla tormentilla, and 

 Galium saxatile are freely scattered. The white, fluffy heads of the cotton- 

 grass [Eriophorum vaginatutn) also appear conspicuously, and the knout- 

 berry [Ruhus cham(tmorus), with its large, beautiful white flower and 

 raspberry-like fruit, as well as the bilberry {Vaccinium Myrtillis), the 

 whortleberry [F. Vitis-idcea), and the crowberry {Empetrum nigrum) are 

 generally abundantly distributed. Such is a description of the plants 

 found in the Upper Zone of Burnhope Seat, and it may be taken as 

 typical of the other higher hills of similar character, as well as many of 

 those at a lower altitude possessing the same features. The upper part 

 of the Middle Zone does not materially differ from the lower part of the 

 Upper Zone, and in this belt very commonly occur such plants as the 

 sundew {Drosera rotundi folia), the butterwort {Pinguicula vulgaris), the 

 marsh willow-lierb {Epilobium palustrc), the starry saxifrage {Saxifraga 

 stellaris), the bog stitch wort [Stcllaria uliginosa), the lesser spearwort 

 [Ranunculus Jlammula),^nd the marsh speedwell [Veronica scutcllata) ; these 

 extend also into the lower Middle Zone and even to the coast-line. 



The wide extent of these peaty, heather-covered moors, with their 

 prevailing vegetation, is due to the prevalence of sandstones and shales, 

 which thickly overlie the main limestone formation. The mountain 

 limestone constitutes a large part of Upper Tccsdale and Weardale, but 

 it presents few of the characteristics so strikingly represented in the West 

 Riding of Yorkshire. The calcareous strata crop out chiefly in the dales, 



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