A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



is truly indigenous, and is everywhere abundant in the hedgerows, 

 though now scarcely ascending above 1,200 feet. 



The scenery of Upper Teesdale with its sub-alpine heights is 

 peculiarly grand and striking. The great basaltic Whin Sill here 

 attains a thickness of over 200 feet, and gives a wild and picturesque 

 character to the landscape. At Cauldron Snout the river thunders 

 through a deep narrow gorge in a fine rush of turbulent waters, forming 

 one of the grandest waterfalls in Britain. None other approaches its 

 fall of 100 feet upon a stream of such volume. Huge fallen boulders 

 and sharp-edged basaltic cliffs form a rugged background ; all around is 

 desolation : not a tree or any sign of habitation interrupts the waste 

 of dreary moorland. A variety of the alpine willow-herb {Epilobium 

 anagallidi folium) is an interesting plant found close to Cauldron Snout, 

 and a rare species of sedge [Carex rigidd) should be specially noted here. 

 The purple marsh-cinquefoil {Comarum palustre) also occurs on the 

 swamps near at hand. From a short distance above Cauldron Snout 

 commence low banks of a curious white granular limestone which 

 extend eastwards along the back of Widdy Bank Fell. The main basaltic 

 rock formation, with this coarse ' sugar limestone ' which here overlies 

 it, provides a botanical district quite exceptionally rich in rare and 

 peculiarly Montane species. It is not possible to find in Great Britain 

 any piece of ground of similar area which produces so many extremely 

 rare plants as Widdy Bank Fell. The side of this hill towards the 

 river is faced by precipitous basaltic cliffs known as the Falcon Clints, 

 which extend in jagged, irregular outline for some two miles down the 

 stream. From the other side of the hill over the beds of ' sugar lime- 

 stone' flow several streams in three directions — east, west, and south-east. 

 The following rare plants are mentioned by Baker as occurring upon 

 the crags and the banks of these streams, within an area of four square 

 miles : 



Viola arenaria. Hieracium iricum. Asplenium viride. 



Arenaria uliginosa. — pallidum. Woodsia ilvensis. 



Thalictrum alpinum. — angiicum. Polypodium calcareum. 



Draba incaiia. Gentiana verna. Equisctum varicgatum. 



Potcntilla alpestris. Arbutus Uva-ursi. Poa Parneliii. 



Sedum purpurcum. Bartsia alpina. Galium sylvestre. 



— villosum. Kobrcsia caricina. Toficlilia palustris. 

 Saxifraga aizoides. Juncus triglumis. Scirpus pauciflorus. 



— stellaris. Carex capillaris. Armcria maritima. 



— hypnoides. Scslcria czrulca. Primula farinosa. 

 Galium borcalc. Cryptogramme crispa. 



Cronkley Fell presents a bold front on the Yorkshire side of the river ; 

 it rises perpendicularly, repeating precisely the same physical features 

 as its opposite neighbour, and many of the rarities just enumerated 

 arc common to both grounds. The Upper Teesdale district generally 

 should be considered to include both the Yorkshire and Durham borders, 

 and many of the very rare plants are quite peculiar to this special region. 

 Near Barnard Castle and Rokeby and further eastwards along the banks 

 of the Tees the delightful woods on both sides of the river are also 



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