Newton Ketton Meadow

Newton Ketton Meadow
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Country England
Region North East
District Darlington
Location NZ322207
 - coordinates 54°34′51″N 1°30′9″W / 54.58083°N 1.50250°WCoordinates: 54°34′51″N 1°30′9″W / 54.58083°N 1.50250°W
Area 1.8 ha (4.4 acres)
Notification 1989
Management Natural England
Area of Search County Durham
Interest Biological
Map of England and Wales with a red dot representing the location of the Newton Ketton Meadow SSSI, Co Durham
Location of Newton Ketton Meadow SSSI, Co Durham
Website: Map of site

Newton Ketton Meadow is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Darlington district of Durham, England. It is situated alongside a small tributary of the River Skerne, about 2 km south-west of the village of Great Stainton and 3 km east of the village of Brafferton.

The site is one of the few remaining traditional hay meadows on the coastal plain between the River Tees and the River Tyne and supports a rich variety of species characteristic of this habitat.

Great burnet, Sanguisorba officinalis, is present in abundance, as are herbs such as sneezewort, Achillea ptarmica, cuckooflower, Cardamine pratensis, meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria, and common spotted orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii. Grasses include sweet vernal-grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, common bent, Agrostis capillaris, and downy oat-grass, Avenula pubescens. There are also a notable variety of sedges, including glaucous sedge, Carex flacca, hairy sedge, C. hirta, tawny sedge, C. hostiana, carnation sedge, C. panicea, and flea sedge, C. pulicaris.[1]

References

  1. "Newton Ketton Meadow". English Nature. 1989. Retrieved 29 July 2010.