Quarrington Hill Grasslands

Also within

Durham County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Rock Type: Limestone

Description

Description Quarrington Hill Grasslands is notified for its communities of Magnesian Limestone grassland. The Magnesian Limestone has a very restricted distribution in England and grasslands on this substrate, which are naturally scarce, have been further fragmented due to agricultural intensification and quarrying activities. Of the variety of grassland communities which occur on the Magnesian Limestone those characterised by blue moor grass Sesleria caerulea with small scabious Scabiosa columbaria are the most notable and are confined nationally to restricted areas in County Durham and Tyne and Wear. The grasslands at Quarrington Hill are typical of this type. The site comprises three areas of grassland on escarpment slopes around the village of Quarrington Hill. Blue moor grass is dominant throughout with quaking grass Briza media, sheep's fescue Festuca ovina, crested hair grass Koeleria macrantha and meadow oat grass Avenula pratensis all frequent. The glaucous sedge Carex flaccaalso forms an important part of the sward. A profusion of broad leaved herbs occur with common bird's foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus, hare bell Campanula rotundifolia, common rock rose Helianthemum nummularium, fairy flax Linum catharticum, burnet saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga, small scabious, cowslip Primula veris, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba and wild thyme Thymus polytrichus all prominent. Less common species include common milkwort Polygala vulgaris, hairy violet Viola hirta, wild carrot Daucus carota and felwort Gentianella amarella. The nationally scarce dark red helleborine Epipactis atrorubens occurs on the site as does the southern species; basil thyme Clinopodium acinos. The Durham argus butterfly Aricia artaxerxes salmacis is known to breed on this site.

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.