Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

in England, on the border between Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 and Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

, adjoining Morecambe Bay

Morecambe Bay

Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...

. One of the smallest AONBs, It covers 29 square miles (75 km²) between the Kent

River Kent

The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. The river originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles into the north of Morecambe Bay. The Lake District National Park includes the upper reaches of the river within its boundaries.The river passes...

 Estuary, the River Keer

River Keer

The River Keer is a river in Lancashire, England.For parts of its course, the Keer marks the boundary between Lancashire and Cumbria, as well as the ancient counties of Lancashire and Westmorland....

 and the A6 road. It was designated in 1972.

The area is characterised by low hills of carboniferous limestone

Carboniferous limestone

Carboniferous Limestone is a term used to describe a variety of different types of limestone occurring widely across Great Britain and Ireland which were deposited during the Dinantian epoch of the Carboniferous period. They were formed between 363 and 325 million years ago...

, including Arnside Knott

Arnside Knott

Arnside Knott is a hill with a summit elevation of , near Arnside, Cumbria, England. Although it is in South Lakeland district it is not in the Lake District National Park, lying south of the River Kent which forms the south eastern boundary of the national park...

 (159 m) and Warton Crag (163 m), interspersed with grassland. Much of the area is covered by deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 woodland, in which ash

Ash tree

Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...

, oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 and hazel

Hazel

The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...

 predominate. The coastal areas contain large areas of salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

, although these are under threat from the shifting channel of the Kent Estuary

River Kent

The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. The river originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles into the north of Morecambe Bay. The Lake District National Park includes the upper reaches of the river within its boundaries.The river passes...

. http://www.english-nature.org.uk//science/natural/NA_HAbDetails.asp?Name=Morecambe+Bay&N=118&H=15&S=&R=2

The Leighton Moss

RSPB Leighton Moss

Leighton Moss RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in Lancashire, England, in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is situated at Silverdale near Carnforth, on the edge of Morecambe Bay and in the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

 nature reserve, owned by the RSPB, is the largest area of reedbeds in North West England, and is an important habitat for birds. The bittern

Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...

, one of the resident species, has been adopted as the logo of the AONB. In addition there are 15 SSSIs

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in the area; one of these, Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve

National Nature Reserve

For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

, is home to some rare species of butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 including the High Brown Fritillary

High Brown Fritillary

The High Brown Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family, native from Europe across mainland Asia to Japan.The adults fly in July/August and lay eggs near to the larval food plants which are species of violets,...

.

Arnside

Arnside

Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It faces the estuary of the River Kent on the north eastern corner of Morecambe Bay, within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

 and Silverdale

Silverdale, Lancashire

Silverdale is a village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. The village stands on Morecambe Bay, near the border with Cumbria, north west of Carnforth and north of Lancaster. The parish had a population of 1,545 recorded in the 2001 census.Silverdale forms part...

 are the main villages in the area. Other settlements include Warton

Warton, Lancaster

Warton is a village and civil parish in north Lancashire in the north-west of England, close to the boundary with Cumbria, with a population of around 2,000. It is a village steeped in history; its earliest recording as a settlement is made in Domesday Book written in 1086. The nearest town to...

, Yealand Redmayne

Yealand Redmayne

Yealand Redmayne is a village and civil parish in the English county of Lancashire. It is in the City of Lancaster district.-Community:The civil parish also includes Slack Head near Beetham and is north of its neighbouring village, Yealand Conyers...

, Beetham

Beetham

Beetham is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, situated on the border with Lancashire. It is part of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-Demography:The parish had a population of 1,724 recorded in the 2001 census,...

 and Storth

Storth

Storth, is a hamlet in Cumbria, England, situated on the border with Lancashire. The village faces the estuary of the River Kent. Although the village is ancient the vast bulk of the homes are from the latter part of the 20th century. There is a village church...

.