Bavington Crags facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
| Area of Search | Northumberland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55°07′12″N 2°01′49″W / 55.119918°N 2.030256°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 4.4 hectares (11 acres) |
| Notification | 1954 |
| Location map | DEFRA MAGIC map |
Bavington Crags is a special natural area in Northumberland, England. It is known as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This means it's a place with important plants, animals, or rocks that need to be protected.
The area is famous for its unique rocks, called the Whin Sill. These rocks create thin soil. This special soil helps certain plants grow that you don't often see elsewhere.
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What is Bavington Crags?
Bavington Crags covers about 4.4 hectares. That's like 11 football fields! It is in the middle of Northumberland, in the north-east of England. The area is not far from a village called Great Bavington.
The crags are on gentle farmland. They are about 230 meters (750 feet) above sea level.
The Whin Sill Rocks
The main rocks at Bavington Crags are part of the Whin Sill. This is a type of igneous rock, like dolerite. Igneous rocks form when hot, melted rock (magma) from deep inside the Earth cools down. The Whin Sill was formed by ancient volcanoes.
These rocks create areas with very thin soil. This soil can get very dry in summer. But it also has a special soil chemistry. This means it has certain minerals that help unique plants grow. You can see parts of the Whin Sill as low cliffs and flat rock slabs here.
Plants at Bavington Crags
Bavington Crags has a type of grassland called acid grassland. Here, you'll find lots of plants like crested dog's-tail and mat-grass.
Plants on Dry Rock Slabs
The flat rock slabs at the site are home to some unusual plants for Northumberland. These include chives, hairy stonecrop, bristle club-rush, changing forget-me-not, field madder, and early hair-grass.
On dry ledges, you might spot maiden pink.
Plants in Wetter Areas
Some parts of Bavington Crags are wetter. In these areas, you can find plants like mat-grass, carnation sedge, spring sedge, cuckoo flower, red fescue, wild thyme, salad burnet, and lady’s bedstraw.
In 2012, experts said the condition of Bavington Crags was "unfavourable-recovering." This was because a very wet summer that year affected how well the plants grew on the rock slabs.
