Spindlestone Heughs

Also within

Northumberland County Northumberland Coast Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Igneous Intrusion, Rock Outcrop

Landscape processes: Coastal, Volcanic / Igneous

Description

Description Spindlestone Heughs is one of a series of sites in the Bamburgh area where the whin Sill outcrops in surface exposures. This quartz dolerite igneous rock is resistant to weathering and forms shallow soils which bear an unusual assemblage of plants, apparently unique to Northumberland and including nationally rare species. The site has a number of discrete exposures supporting a diverse range of plant communities, separated by vegetation of lesser interest. The whin Sill exposures show variation in moisture regime and base status. Flushed rock slabs support a distinctive pioneer community rooted in thin layers of detritus. These 'proto soils' are prone to both frost disturbance and summer drought and carry a limited flora including two rarities, chives Allium schoenoprasum and hairy stonecrop Sedum villosum with meadow saxifrage Saxifraga granulataa, changing forget-me-not Myosotis discolor, heath pearlwort Sagina subulata and field madder Sherardia arvensis. Other exposures bear shallow soils, similarly prone to drought. Differences in base status of these soils are evident. Some areas support acidophilous species such as bell heather Erica cinerea with sheep’s fescue Festuca ovina while others have a more diverse flora with a number of species regarded as calcicoles including maiden pink Dianthus deltoides, wild onion Allium vineale, purple milk vetch Astragalus danicus, common rock rose Helianthemum nummularium, doves foot crane’s bill Geranium molle, cut leaved crane's bill G. dissectum, wild thyme Thymus praecox, biting stonecrop Sedum acre, hare’s foot clover Trifolium arvense, early forget-me-not Myosotis ramosissima, crested hair grass Koeleria macrantha, squirrel tail fescue Vulpia bromoides and meadow oat grass Avenula pratensis. An outcrop with atypical vegetation has kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba, dropwort Filipendula vulgaris and bell heather. South facing crags support ivy Hedera helix, wood sage Teucrium scorodonia and blackthorn Prunus spinosa with deciduous woodland below. A North facing crag has sea plantain Plantago maritima, black spleenwort Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, maidenhair spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes and polypody Polypodium vulgare. Spring cinquefoil Potentilla tabernaemontani is found on a steep bank within an open pine plantation. Other notable species at the site include prickly sedge Carex muricata and field gentian Gentianella campestris. Other Information During the 1986 revision the boundary of this site has been amended to exclude land previously notified* as part of the North Northumberland Coast SSSI. * Under Section 23 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.