Maryport Harbour

Also within

Cumbria County King Charles Way - Allonby to Whitehaven National Trail

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

Landscape processes: Coastal

Description

Description This site lies on the west coast of Cumbria between the town of Maryport and the sea wall, adjacent to the harbour. It comprises two discrete blocks of grassland and ruderal vegetation and is the only Cumbria locality for the national rare purple or yarrow broomrape Orobanche purpurea. The established grassland on the sea wall adjacent to Stenhouse Dock is dominated by a range of grasses and herbs including false oat grass Arrhenatherum elatius, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus, red fescue, cock's foot, common rest harrow Ononis repens, yarrow, common knapweed and yellow rattle. Two Cumbrian rareties, common broomrape Orobanche minor and pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis are important constituents of this grassland. The land south of Elizabeth Dock by contrast supports a much more open ruderal community which has evolved on an artificial substrate of coal washings, spoil, slag and soil. Herbs dominate the sward and grasses are generally uncommon. Dominant species include rest harrow, common knapweed Centaurea nigra, kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, wild carrot Daucus carota, wild mignonette Reseda lutea, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor and the clovers Trifolium dubium and Trifolium repens. Yarrow Achillea millefolium is present throughout the sward and it is upon this plant that the nationally rare purple broomrape is parasitic. Maryport Harbour provides the most northerly known site for this species which otherwise has a southern distribution. This is also an important site for the small blue butterfly because of the abundance of its food plant, kidney vetch. The small blue has suffered a decline in several parts of the country and in Cumbria is now restricted to only three sites.

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.