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- View of Dufton Pike from High Cup Winery (c) NPAP/Elizabeth Pickett
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- Black grouse. Brian Irving © HELM Images
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- High Force waterfall in Upper Teesdale © Shane Harris
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- Red squirrel © David Gibbon
The North Pennines is one of England’s most special places – a peaceful, unspoilt landscape with a rich history and vibrant natural beauty.
Stunning
The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and UNESCO Global Geopark is a stunning landscape of open heather moors, dramatic dales, tumbling upland rivers, wonderful woods, close knit communities, glorious waterfalls, fantastic birds, colourful hay meadows, stone-built villages, intriguing imprints of a mining and industrial past and distinctive plants. The area’s geology and landscape, archaeology and biodiversity are second to none.
In the North Pennines you’ll find:
- 40% of the UK’s upland hay meadows
- 30% of England’s upland heathland and 27% of its blanket bog
- 80% of England’s black grouse
- Short-eared owl, ring ouzel, snipe and redshank
- 36% of the AONB is designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest
- Red squirrels, otters and rare arctic alpine plants
- 22,000 pairs of breeding wading birds
- Peace, tranquility and fabulous night skies
- England’s biggest waterfall – High Force in Upper Teesdale