| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
| Area of Search | Cumbria, Lancashire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SD669797 |
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 703.1 hectare |
| Notification | 1959[1] |
| Location map | English Nature |
Leck Fell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Lancashire. An area of typically heavily grazed open moorland of rough grass and remnant patches of heather with little or no tree cover, it is characterised by the virtual absence of surface drainage and an extensive subterranean drainage network resulting in cave systems and numerous sink holes.[2] It surrounds the high point of Gragareth (627 metres) between Leck Beck and Kingsdale.
Contents |
The pasturing of animals, along with changes in the climate in the later Bronze Age, contributed to deforestation of the open fell sides and the development of hill peat deposits.[2] The present landscape is dominated by long straight enclosure walls of later 18th or 19th century date.[2]
A number of important cave systems have been known and explored since the 1930s on Leck Fell, many of which have been linked below the water table by cave diving. These include:
A formal permitting system operates for access to the caves, with no caving allowed in April, May and June.[3]