Exhibition: Hay meadows of the North Pennines

24 May 2024

As part of the North Pennines NatureFest 2024 programme, the National Landscape team has collated an exhibition of photographs that show the many facets of the hay meadows that are such a distinctive part of this landscape.

The exhibition will be on show at Bowlees Visitor Centre from 25 May until the end of June.

Rich in wildlife and cultural tradition, species-rich upland hay meadows are one of the rarest grassland habitats in the country. Recent estimates indicate that the North Pennines National Landscape has 40% of the UK’s remaining upland hay meadows.

Upland hay meadows are precious not only for their biodiversity but also because they provide an important link to the socio-economic and cultural past of the North Pennines. They are a habitat entirely influenced by humans and are dependent on management by people year-in, year-out. As a result, they are both fascinating and vulnerable.

Considering the importance of the North Pennines for upland hay meadows and the threatened status of the habitat, in 2006 the North Pennines National Landscape team launched the first programme aimed at conserving and enhancing the hay meadows of the North Pennines and increasing public awareness, enjoyment and understanding of this internationally important habitat. This work continues today through the Tees-Swale: Naturally Connected programme.

Restoration is mainly carried out through harvesting and spreading of green hay in late summer from a species-rich donor meadow to improve diversity of a receptor meadow. In addition, staff and volunteers hand collect seed of specific plants to be grown at our nursery at Bowlees, before being planted out into meadows across the area.

The very richest hay meadows contain over 30 species per square metre with up to 120 species per field. Typical species include wood crane’s-bill, great burnet, pignut, wood anemone, betony, rough hawkbit, Lady’s mantle, and yellow rattle. Hay meadows are also important as feeding areas for invertebrates and bats and provide valuable nesting and feeding sites for grey partridge, black grouse, and curlew.

Simon Wilson, Programme Manager with the North Pennines National Landscape team, said: “We have produced this exhibition as part of North Pennines NatureFest to celebrate our glorious hay meadows. There are stunning images of meadow flowers alongside pictures that show meadow management. It is the combination of well-established monitoring and support from the North Pennines National Landscape team and partners, building on the tireless work of farmers, continuing to manage hay meadows traditionally that underpins the conservation and recovery of these habitats. Though the images used in the exhibition are not for sale, we have produced a special set of greeting cards that visitors can purchase. The exhibition is supported with a range of free to download publications and self-guided walk leaflets to enable people to discover stunning hay meadows first-hand.”

Visit www.NorthPenninesNatureFest.org.uk for more information about the events and activities on offer as part of Naturefest.

The exhibition is open daily, 10am to 5pm, in the Bowlees Visitor Centre gallery space and is accessed via a flight of stairs. For more information visit the North Pennines National Landscape website: https://northpennines.org.uk/bowlees-visitor-centre