Bride Stones

Also within

North Yorkshire County NORTH YORK MOORS National Park

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.

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Jurassic

Landscape processes: Peatland / Mire

Description

Description The Bride Stones are a famous series of isolated stacks consisting of silicified portions of the sandy Passage Beds of the Hambleton Oolite Corallian, Jurassic, formed by differential weathering. The rocks have a crevice flora which includes black spleenwort Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, which is rare in the county and wall rue Asplenium ruta-muraria. The stones are surrounded by moorland which grades into woodland to the south. Heather Calluna vulgaris dominates the moorland, although bracken Pteridium aquilinum covers many slopes, particularly those along the becks. To the north and in flatter areas, damp conditions support species such as cross leaved heath Erica tetralix, hare's tail cotton grass Eriophorum vaginatum and common cotton grass Eriophorum angustifolium. On drier moorland, bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, cowberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea and crowberry Empetrum nigrum occur together with various mosses and lichens. rowan Sorbus aucuparia is spreading from some of the stream sides and part of the moorland is being colonised by birch Betula sp. Dovedale Wood in the south west is an acidic oak Quercus petraea woodland with a ground flora of wavy hair grass Deschampsia flexuosa and bilberry. The southern edge of the site consists of similar oak woodland, but there is also coniferous species present. Woodland along the becks is mixed but in general is dominated by birch and rowan with some oak, aspen Populus tremula, holly Ilex aquifolium and alder Alnus glutinosa. Ferns and bryophytes feature in the ground flora and opposite leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium occurs on wet ledges and flushes. Other Information 1. During the 1983 revision the boundary has been extended. 2. The site is managed by the Yorkshire Naturalists' Trust as a nature reserve. * 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.

Plant communities