Railway Stell West

Railway Stell West
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Country	England
Region	North East
District	Sedgefield

Location	NZ319270 to NZ313247
- coordinates	GB-ENG 54°37′43″N 1°30′31″W / 54.62861°N 1.50861°W / 54.62861; -1.50861Coordinates: GB-ENG 54°37′43″N 1°30′31″W / 54.62861°N 1.50861°W / 54.62861; -1.50861

Area	4.6 ha (11.4 acres)

Notification	1986
Management	Natural England

Area of Search	County Durham
Interest	Biological

Location of Railway Stell West SSSI, Co Durham
Website: Map of site

Railway Stell West is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Sedgefield district of County Durham, England. The site consists of a length of ditch alongside the East Coast Main Line railway, 3 km east of the town of Newton Aycliffe.

The site lies at the centre of what was formerly an extensive area of wetland, known as Bradbury, Mordon and Preston Carrs, of which the ditch alongside the railway is the only surviving remnant. A variety of wetland habitats occur, ranging from open water to tall herb communities.

The eastern side of the ditch, which embanks the railway, is formed of railway ballast, over which a dry herb vegetation has developed. The western bank is relatively undisturbed and supports a richer assemblage, in which the locally scarce common meadow rue, Thalictrum flavum, is abundant.^[1]

Where the ditch has been recently cleared, there are patches of open water, in which water crowfoot, Ranunculus aquatilis, water plantain, Alisma plantago-aquatica, and similar species are dominant; water violet, Hottonia palustris, which is at its northern limit in Britain at this site, is locally abundant.

Around the open water, and in parts of the ditch that are silting-up, a tall fen vegetation occurs. A wide variety of species occur, including water horsetail, Equisetum fluviatile, celery-leaved crowfoot, Ranunculus sceleratus, sharp-flowered rush, Juncus acutiflorus, and great pond sedge, Carex riparia. Great spearwort, Ranunculus lingua, a rarity in north-east England, is still found, but a number of other uncommon species have been lost in recent years, among them narrow-leaved water-parsnip, Berula erecta, water dropwort, Oenanthe fistulosa, and fringed water-lily, Nymphoides peltata.^[1]

References

1 2 "Railway Stell West" (PDF). English Nature. 1986. Retrieved 31 July 2010.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham

Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods Baldersdale Woodlands Bishop Middleham Quarry Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells Botany Hill Bowes Moor Bowlees and Friar House Meadows Brasside Pond Brignall Banks Burnhope Burn Butterby Oxbow Cassop Vale Castle Eden Dene Causey Bank Mires Charity Land Close House Mine Cornriggs Meadows Cotherstone Moor Crag Gill Crime Rigg and Sherburn Hill Quarries Dabble Bank Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine Durham Coast Fairy Holes Cave Far High House Meadows Fishburn Grassland Foster's Hush Frog Wood Bog God's Bridge Grains o' th' Beck Meadows Green Croft and Langley Moor Greenfoot Quarry Hannah's Meadows Hawthorn Dene Hawthorn Quarry Hell Kettles Hesledon Moor East Hesledon Moor West Hexhamshire Moors Hisehope Burn Valley Hulam Fen Hunder Beck Juniper Kilmond Scar Low Redford Meadows Lune Forest Mere Beck Meadows Middle Crossthwaite Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows Middleton Quarry Middridge Quarry Moorhouse and Cross Fell Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor Neasham Fen Newton Ketton Meadow Old Moss Lead Vein Park End Wood Pig Hill Pike Whin Bog Pittington Hill Pow Hill Bog Quarrington Hill Grasslands Railway Stell West Raisby Hill Grassland Raisby Hill Quarry Redcar Field Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows Rogerley Quarry Sherburn Hill Shipley and Great Woods Sleightholme Beck Gorge - The Troughs Slit Woods Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon Teesdale Allotments The Bottoms The Carrs Thrislington Plantation Town Kelloe Bank Trimdon Limestone Quarry Tuthill Quarry Upper Teesdale Waldridge Fell West Newlandside Meadows West Park Meadows West Rigg Open Cutting Westernhope Burn Wood Wingate Quarry Witton-le-Wear Yoden Village Quarry

Neighbouring areas Cleveland Northumberland Tyne and Wear

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