Restoring wildflower meadows on the Durham Coast

Why the project was needed

This special area features some extremely rare magnesian limestone habitat and it’s the only place in the world where you find this geology on the coast. This, in turn, supports an unusually diverse range of wildflowers and insect life. Some meadows are home to up to 50 species of plant life in a square metre and we wanted to extend these areas.

Getting to work

Beginning in 2018, we've been working on a £40,000 project to restore rich meadows and grasslands along a 5-mile stretch of the Durham Coast. The project has involved creating 50 hectares of wildflower meadows between Hawthorn Dene and Cotsford Field in Horden, benefitting wildlife including a variety of plants, birds and insects.

The project has focused on removing species such as bracken and Himalayan balsam, which were outcompeting native species in some areas. We then worked to improve and manage the grassland through a programme of cattle grazing and grass cutting.

Benefits of cattle grazing

Cattle grazing encourages wildflower growth. The cattle crop the grass and turn over the soil, creating good growing conditions for meadow flowers such as wild thyme, bird’s-foot trefoil and bloody cranesbill. It also aids the common rock rose, which is the favoured plant of the larvae of the rare Durham argus butterfly.

When areas are fenced off for grazing this also reduces disturbance to ground-nesting birds including the skylark, lapwing and grey partridge.