Arnside and Silverdale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arnside and Silverdale |
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Location of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB in the UK
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| Location | Cumbria, Lancashire, England |
| Area | 75 km2 (29 sq mi) |
| Established | 1972 |
Arnside and Silverdale is a special place in England. It's called an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This area is found where the counties of Lancashire and Cumbria meet. It's right next to Morecambe Bay. It's one of the smaller AONBs, covering about 75 square kilometers (29 square miles). This beautiful area was officially recognized in 1972. It sits between the Kent Estuary, the River Keer, and the A6 road.
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What Makes it Special?
This area has gentle hills made of a type of rock called Carboniferous Limestone. Two of these hills are Arnside Knott, which is 522 feet high, and Warton Crag, which is 535 feet high. Between these hills, you'll find open grasslands.
Trees and Plants
A lot of Arnside and Silverdale is covered by deciduous woodland. These are forests where trees lose their leaves in autumn. The main trees you'll see here are ash, oak, and hazel.
Coastal Areas
Along the coast, there are big areas of salt marsh. These are grassy lands flooded by salty water from the sea. However, the changing path of the Kent Estuary is slowly affecting these important areas.
Wildlife Haven
Arnside and Silverdale is a fantastic place for wildlife.
Leighton Moss Reserve
The Leighton Moss nature reserve is a very important spot. It's managed by the RSPB. This reserve has the biggest area of reedbeds in North West England. Reedbeds are wetlands full of tall grass-like plants called reeds. Because of this, it's known as an Important Bird Area. The bittern, a special bird that lives in reedbeds, is the symbol for the Arnside and Silverdale AONB.
Other Special Sites
There are also fifteen other special places called SSSIs in the area. One of these, Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve, is home to some very rare butterfly species. This includes the beautiful high brown fritillary butterfly.
Villages in the AONB
The two main villages in this special area are Arnside and Silverdale. Other smaller communities include Warton, Yealand Redmayne, Beetham, and Storth.
Looking After the Landscape
The Arnside and Silverdale AONB is supported by a group called the Landscape Trust. This is a registered charity with over 1,000 members.
What the Trust Does
The Landscape Trust works to protect and improve the natural beauty of the area. Their activities include:
- Owning and managing several nature reserves.
- Producing a journal called Keer to Kent. This journal shares information about the area.
