Holwick Scar

For our recent August Bank Holiday break, we decided to head to the middle of nowhere for some peace and quiet and found a beautiful little cottage in the hamlet of Holwick. The pictures on their website did not do the area justice and Holwick is actually a stunning place.

Holwick Scar dominates the landscape here and is obviously popular with walkers, being part of a big circular route incorporating Middleton-in-Teesdale and High & Low Force. It's popularity is understandable and for four days I couldn't stop looking out of the window of the cottage at the views, and consequently spotted some cool wildlife including Black Grouse and Green Woodpecker. As well as admiring the scar from Holwick itself, you can also follow a footpath through the scar and walk on top of the cliffs taking in views over Teesdale which I definitely recommend doing.

So, what about the geology of the scar? Well, the impressive cliffs were formed around 295 million years ago by molten rock (magma) being injected into rock and creating the thick dolerite formation known as the Great Whin Sill. The Whin Sill is found in several areas in the North of England, including chunks on the Northumberland coast and along Hadrian's Wall. The sill creates a dramatic and spectacular landscape wherever it is found and can be identified by columnar jointing, similar to that seen at Giant's Causeway or Fingal's Cave. It's resistance to erosion means there are features on the landscape which still survive millions of years later including High Force, High Cup Nick and Cauldron Snout - all impressive places to visit.

The area of Upper Teesdale, which includes Holwick, is an SSSI (site of special scientific interest) partly due to rare arctic-alpine plants that grow in the area. Bearberry and Starry Saxifrage are just two of the types of rare plants that might be found around Holwick and on the moors above it. (Starry Saxifrage is very pretty and worth a quick Google!) Not only does Upper Teesdale have SSSI status, it also has Special Area for Conservation and Special Protection Area designations meaning it has European importance too and the area has a high level of legal protection. Consequently, there is no public access to the base of the scar to protect all the unique flora. Best to admire the scar from afar!