Baldersdale Woodlands

Baldersdale Woodlands
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Country England
Region North East
District Teesdale
Location NY992200
 - coordinates 54°34′32″N 2°0′47″W / 54.57556°N 2.01306°WCoordinates: 54°34′32″N 2°0′47″W / 54.57556°N 2.01306°W
Area 19.6 ha (48.4 acres)
Notification 1991
Management Natural England
Area of Search County Durham
Interest Biological
Map of England and Wales with a red dot representing the location of the Baldersdale Woodlands SSSI, Co Durham
Location of Baldersdale Woodlands SSSI, Co Durham
Website: Map of site

Baldersdale Woodlands is a Site of Special Scientific Interest[1] in the Teesdale district of south-west County Durham, England. It consists primarily of ancient, semi-natural woodland growing on steep valley slopes, including scree, on both banks of the River Balder over a stretch of some 3 km, upstream (i.e. west) of the village of Cotherstone. The site has a rich faunal assemblage and the woodland and associated stretch of the river is home to a variety of birds, including dipper and goosander.

In part, the site derives its importance from the proximity of similarly protected sites in other valleys in the River Tees catchment area; the Shipley and Great Woods SSSI occupies a similar position in the valley of the Tees immediately north of Cotherstone.[2]

The condition of the site was last assessed by Natural England in September 2009, when it was mostly rated as "favourable"; a small area, just over 10 percent of the total area, is suffering from cattle grazing but was rated as "recovering".[3]

References

  1. ↑ Drought plan for North East region Dales area, Environment Agency, United Kingdom, retrieved 2010-08-16
  2. ↑ "Baldersdale Woodlands". English Nature. 1991. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  3. ↑ "Condition of SSSI units". Natural England. 1 Jul 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.