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Bishop Middleham
Bishop Middleham is a village in County Durham, in England. The population of the parish as taken at the 2011 census was 1,275 It is close to Sedgefield.
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1.1 km
Bishop Middleham Quarry
Bishop Middleham Quarry is a disused quarry, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-west of Sedgefield, County Durham, England. Quarry-working here ceased in 1934, and the site has since been colonised by vegetation. The underlying rock is Magnesian Limestone and this has had a strong influence in determining the range of plant and animal communities now found there.
In 1968 the quarry was designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The SSSI boundaries were revised in 1982 to exclude areas which were no longer found to have high wildlife interest due to tipping and quarry reworking.
The site contains a variety of vegetation types including woodland, scrub, and several grassland communities. The most important part of the site from a biodiversity conservation perspective is the species-rich unimproved magnesian limestone grassland, which covers just under 4.6 hectares (11 acres) of the site. Only 270 hectares (670 acres) of this habitat exist in Britain, two-thirds of it in County Durham.
Magnesian limestone grassland supports an assemblage of calcicolous plants adapted to growing in thin soils with a short sward. The quarry holds one of the largest British populations of the dark red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens; a survey in 2010 found nearly 1700 flowering spikes of this nationally rare species.
The quarry is a breeding site for the Durham argus butterfly, a local race of the brown argus found only in northeast England.
The site attracted the interest of birdwatchers in 2002 when a pair of European bee-eaters took up residence, raising two young, only the third breeding attempt ever in Britain.
Bishop Middleham Quarry is managed as a Nature Reserve by the Durham Wildlife Trust.
1.5 km
Mainsforth
Mainsforth is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bishop Middleham, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is to the east of Ferryhill. The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may have been on Marble (Narble Hill). It has been suggested, without great historical foundation, that this was a Danish settlement. In 1961 the parish had a population of 229. From medieval times through to the early twentieth century the village was in effect a small collection of farms and farm workers' cottages.
Mainsforth Hall was a significant building in the centre of this small village, until its demolition in the 1960s. The hall was for many years the dwelling of the Surtees family. A notable member of the family was Robert Surtees (1779–1834), a County Durham historian.
Mainsforth Colliery, active from 1872-1968, lay between the village and Ferryhill Station.
1.8 km
Thrislington Plantation
Thrislington Plantation is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a national nature reserve in County Durham, England. It is situated about 1 km east of Ferryhill, between the East Coast Main Line railway and the A1(M) road.
The site has one of the most important expanses of primary magnesian limestone grassland in Great Britain. In particular, it has the largest area of the grassland type which is characterised by blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, and small scabious, Scabiosa columbaria.
The eastern part of the site is undisturbed grassland which, as well as species commonly associated with magnesian limestone, has a small population of the locally rare mountain everlasting, Antennaria dioica, and good populations of dark-red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens, and perennial flax, Linum perenne subsp. anglicum, both of which are nationally scarce.
The western part of the site has been disturbed by quarrying and the vegetation here consists of primary turf that was translocated between 1982 and 1990. Although it remains rich in herbs, the characteristic features of magnesian limestone grassland were lost during the translocation: blue moor-grass is uncommon, while coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, and field sow-thistle, Sonchus arvensis, which entered the grassland during translocation, persist.
The area supports a diverse invertebrate fauna, which includes the nationally rare least minor moth, Photedes captiuncula, the nationally notable Durham argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, and the common glow-worm, Lampyris noctiluca.
1.9 km
Fishburn Airfield
Fishburn Airfield is a small grass strip airfield in Fishburn, County Durham.
The airfield was opened on 30 June 1995 by the then local MP and Leader of the Opposition Tony Blair. It was named as "Airfield of the year" by aviation magazine Flyer in 2004 for its welcoming atmosphere and bacon butties.
In 2005, the airfield hosted filming for a scene from the Bollywood film Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors