The Bottoms (SSSI)

The Bottoms
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Country	England
Region	North East
District	County Durham

Location	NZ361381
- coordinates	GB-ENG 54°44′13″N 1°26′24″W / 54.73694°N 1.44000°W / 54.73694; -1.44000Coordinates: GB-ENG 54°44′13″N 1°26′24″W / 54.73694°N 1.44000°W / 54.73694; -1.44000

Area	2.15 ha (5.31 acres)

Notification	1999
Management	Natural England

Area of Search	County Durham
Interest	Biological

Location of The Bottoms SSSI, Co Durham
Website: Map of site

The Bottoms is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England. It lies just south of the A181 road, roughly midway between the villages of Cassop and Wheatley Hill, some 10 km south-east of Durham city.

The site's interest lies in an area of unimproved magnesian limestone grassland, in which blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, and small scabious, Scabiosa columbaria, are the dominant species. This is a scarce vegetation type, which is found only in County Durham and the extent of which has been severely reduced by quarrying and intensive agriculture.^[1]

Other grasses that are frequent in the sward include meadow oat-grass, Avenula pratensis, quaking grass, Briza media, sheep's fescue, Festuca ovina, and crested hairgrass, Koeleria macrantha. There is a rich variety of herbs, including rock-rose, Helianthemum nummularium, glaucous sedge, Carex flacca, spring sedge, C. caryophyllea, and mouse-ear hawkweed, Pilosella officinarum, and a small population of purple milk-vetch, Astragalus danicus, a local rarity on magnesian limestone.^[1]

References

1 2 "The Bottoms" (PDF). English Nature. 1999. 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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