Landscape Character Menu
List of Figures
List of Photographs
1 Introduction
1.1 The Scope and Context for this Study
1.2 Purpose of the Landscape Character Assessment
1.3 Approach and Methodology
1.4 Structure of the Report
2 The Evolution of Lancashire
2.1 Physical Influences
2.2 Human Influences
3 Lancashire's Landscape Character
3.1 Moorland Plateaux
3.2 Moorland Hills
3.3 Enclosed Uplands
3.4 Moorland Fringe
3.5 Undulating Lowland Farmland
3.6 Industrial Foothills and Valleys
3.7 Farmed Ridges
3.8 Settled Valleys
3.9 Reservoir Valleys
3.10 Wooded Rural Valleys
3.11 Valley Floodplains
3.12 Low Coastal Drumlins
3.13 Drumlin Field
3.14 Rolling Upland Farmland
3.15 Coastal Plain
3.16 Mosslands
3.17 Enclosed Coastal Marsh
3.18 Open Coastal Marsh
3.19 Coastal Dunes
3.20 Wooded Limestone Hills and Pavements
3.21 Limestone Fells
4 Lancashire's Urban Landscape Types
4.1 Historic Core (1100-1800)
4.2 Industrial Age (1800-1930)
4.3 Suburban (1930 onwards)
A Landscape Strategy for Lancashire - Landscape Character Assessment
Rolling Upland Farmland
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Rolling Upland Farmland Character Areas 14a Slaidburn-Giggleswick 14b Lothersdale and Cringles |
Landscape Character
The combination of carboniferous mountain limestone and Millstone Grit has created a soft, rolling pastoral landscape which appears verdant in views to the muted hues of the Moorland Hills. Prominent knolls and limestone outcrops on the exposed hill slopes provide a sharp contrast to the gentler rolling form of the grazed hills. Moorland grasses cover the higher summits and there are stunted hawthorns and gorse on roadsides and the steeper hillsides. The winding, narrow roads are often bounded by stone walls, giving a sense of enclosure and obscuring views. Beech stands are features of the steeper rocky slopes and outcrops and are often enclosed by a rounded boundary wall. Scattered isolated stone farmsteads with stone barns are the dominant building type, although small clustered stone villages occur on south facing slopes and there are some small linear settlements. Development is always confined by the steep topography. The Rolling Upland Farmlands are favoured sites for reservoirs, wind turbines, forestry plantations and quarries.
Typical view photo 29:
Walled Lane south west of Gisburn Forest
Physical Influences
The combined presence of Millstone Grit and limestone has created a gentle landscape of rolling hills. This is further softened by the effects of glacial gravel and clay deposits, which in places have been eroded to expose rocky outcrops. The underlying geology is also exposed by the materials used in boundary walls and in farm buildings.
The Rolling Upland Farmland is undulating in character; the majority of streams being confined to areas where Millstone Grit is dominant. The most important habitats are the freshwater streams and unenclosed moorlands, such as Glusburn and Elslack. Trees are common as individual and linear features throughout the landscape and provide local habitats and wildlife corridors. Occasional ancient woodlands survive and constitute an important ecological resource.
Despite modern agricultural practices some isolated hay meadows and herb-rich pastures of national importance have survived, particularly at Lothersdale and east of Slaidburn. Plantations, notably Gisburn Forest, which are fenced to exclude grazing, attract small mammals to the dense understorey and birds of prey such as kestrel, and the short eared owl. Due to a dense canopy, the more mature woods support fewer mammals, although species such as gold crest, coal tit, siskin, and rarely black grouse are all found in the plantations. Forest rides provide habitat for a number of uncommon plant species.
Human Influences
Small groups of round cairns are found in Lothersdale and Cringles in elevated positions and are evidence of early occupation.
The modern landscape is shaped by years of sheep grazing. Stone farmsteads, many of which are located next to streams, and boundary walls, illustrate the proximity of the underlying rocks. The boundaries represent what appears to be Parliamentary enclosure of once marginal land.
Roads are narrow and winding, traversing the areas to link dispersed settlements.
Reservoirs at Stocks, Elslack and Chelker reflect the demands of the rapidly expanding urban populations in industrial centres during the Victorian period.
CHARACTER AREAS ROLLING UPLAND FARMLAND
Rolling Upland Farmland occurs throughout the study area where limestone is found in combination with millstone grit, producing a large scale rolling farmed landscape.
Local
|
Character Areas |
Description |
| 14a |
Slaidburn - Giggleswick |
A large area of upland hills underlain by limestone, between the Bowland Fells to the west and the Ribble Valley to the east. The hills are drained by a series of narrow wooded becks which flow into the Hodder and the Ribble. This is a particularly rural area of intensively farmed land; regular large scale pastures are divided by a continuous network of dry stone walls. The landform becomes more convoluted towards the east, where the topography is influenced by glacial till. Pasture is marginal in the highest areas and there are a number of farms sharing their name with the moors they graze. Rocky limestone knolls, which often support stands of beech, are an important feature of the landscape as they provide texture and reference points in an otherwise open rolling landscape. Roads are winding and closely bordered on each side by dry stone walls, which themselves shelter stunted hawthorns and oaks. A large number of scattered stone farmsteads are located at the end of farm tracks where farm buildings are generally tightly grouped around the house. There are few pressures for built development in this rural area, although the landscape around the Stocks Reservoir has been dramatically influenced by the large area of open water and the plantation which surrounds it, known as Gisburn Forest. |
| 14b |
Lothersdale and Cringles |
The combination of limestone with Millstone Grit has created a soft landscape of rolling hills. The land is divided into a patchwork of improved pastures by stone walls, characteristically lighter than those of the gritstone areas, and punctuated by small stands of trees. Moorland is confined to the higher rounded summits where it is more extensive than in the other character areas, for example Elslack Moor and Skipton Moor. Trees are conspicuous in the landscape and produce strong patterns on the hillsides where they fill cloughs and steep crevices associated with the becks which drain them. Round cairns are found on Elslack Moor and Low Bradley Moor. Settlements are infrequent and the majority of the population is concentrated in the scattered farmsteads. This character area includes a quarry, reservoir, conifer plantations, communication masts and a wind farm, which are conspicuous in an otherwise rural and pastoral landscape. |