Pennines

Various etymologies have proposed treating "Pennine" as a native Brittonic/Modern Welsh name related to pen- ("head").{{refn|Gelling, cited by Redmonds}} It did not become a common name until the 18th century and almost certainly derives from modern comparisons with the Apennine Mountains, which run down the middle of Italy in a similar fashion.{{Citation|last=Redmonds |first=George|contribution=A Major Place-Name Ignored|title=Names and History: People, Places, and Things |publisher=Hambledon & London |location=London |publication-date=2004 |pages=65–68 |isbn=978-1-85285-426-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qxk8qK2uF7kC&pg=PA65 |date=15 March 2007}}{{Dubious|date=March 2022}}

Following an 1853 article by Arthur Hussey,{{Citation|last=Hussey|first=Arthur|editor-last=Cave|editor-first=Edward|editor-link=Edward Cave |contribution=A Renewed Examination of 'Richard of Cirencester' |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DboUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA272 |title=The Gentleman's Magazine |volume=XXXIX |location=London |publisher=J.B. Nichols & Son |date=1853 |pages=270–273 }} it has become a common belief that the name derives from a passage in The Description of Britain ({{langx|la|De Situ Britanniæ}}),{{refn|Route VII: "... This province is divided into two equal parts by a chain of mountains called the Pennine Alps, which rising on the confines of the Iceni and Carnabii, near the River Trivona [Trent], extend towards the north in a continued series of fifty miles ..."{{Citation| last=Bertram | first=Charles | author-link=Charles Bertram | others= Anonymously translated & annotated by Henry Hatcher | year=1809 | orig-year=First published in 1757 |contribution=Chapter XXXIII |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwJIAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51 | title=The Description of Britain, Translated from Richard of Cirencester | publisher=J. White & Co. | location=London | page=51}}}} an infamous historical forgery concocted by Charles Bertram in the 1740s and accepted as genuine until the 1840s. In 2004, George Redmonds reassessed this, finding that numerous respected writers passed over the origin of the mountains' name in silence even in works dedicated to the topological etymology of Derbyshire and Lancashire. He found that the derivation from Bertram was widely believed and considered uncomfortable. In fact, Redmonds found repeated comparisons with the Italian Apennines going back at least as early as William Camden (1551–1623),{{refn|Skipton, Camden said, was "hidden and enclosed among steep Hilles to Latium in Italie, which Varro supposeth to have been called because it lyeth close under the Apennine and the Alps". He went on to describe how "the North part ... riseth up and swelleth somewhat mountainous, with moores and hilles, but of no bignesse, which beginning here runs like as Apennine doth in Italie, through the middest of England ... even as far as Scotland, although oftentimes they change their name."}} many of whose placenames and ideas Bertram incorporated into his work. Bertram was responsible (at most) with popularizing the name against other contenders such as Daniel Defoe's "English Andes". His own form of the name was the "Pennine Alps" ({{lang|la|Alpes Peninos}}), which today is used for a western section of the continental Alps. Those mountains (the area around the St. Bernard Pass) derive their name from the Latin Alpes Pœninæ whose name has been variously derived from the Carthaginians,Livy, History of Rome, Book V, §35. a local god,Livy, History of Rome, Book XXXI, §38. and Celtic peninus.{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-Names|editor-first=Alexander|editor-last=Falileyev |publisher=Aberystwyth University|year=2007|title=Summus P(o)eninus |url=http://cadair.aber.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/2160/282/5/ContCelticPNDictionary.pdf|access-date=2 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731025816/http://cadair.aber.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/2160/282/5/ContCelticPNDictionary.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2009|url-status=dead}} The St. Bernard Pass was the pass used in the invasions of Italy by the Gallic Boii and Lingones in 390 BC. The etymology of the Apennines themselves—whose name first referred to their northern extremity and then later spread southward—is also disputed but is usually taken to derive from some form of Celtic pen or ben ("mountain, head").{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=A Latin Dictionary |first1=Charlton T. |last1=Lewis |first2=Charles |last2=Short |location=Oxford; Medford |publisher=Clarendon Press; Perseus Digital Library |title=Apenninus |year=1879 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3DApenninus |access-date=23 October 2013}}{{cite book |title=Italy; a popular account of the country, its people, and its institutions (including Malta and Sardinia) |url=https://archive.org/details/italypopularacco00deec |first1=W. |last1=Deecke|translator-first=H. A. |translator-last=Nesbitt |location=London; New York |publisher=Macmillan Co.; S. Sonnenschein & Co. |year=1904 |page=23}}{{cite book |first=R. |last=Matasović |date=2009 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic |location=Leiden-Boston |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-17336-1}}

Various towns and geographical features within the Pennines have names of Celtic origin, including Pennington, Penrith, Pen-y-ghent, Pendle Hill, the River Eden, and Cumbria. More commonly, local names result from Anglo-Saxon and Norse settlements. In Yorkshire, Teesdale, and Cumbria, many words of Norse origin, not commonly used in standard English, are part of everyday speech: for example, gill/ghyll (narrow steep valley), beck (brook or stream), fell (hill), and dale (valley).{{Cite book | last =Gunn | first =Peter | year =1984 | title =The Yorkshire Dales. Landscape with Figures | location =London | publisher =Century Publishing Co Ltd | isbn =0-7126-0370-0 }} Northumbrian/borders terms are used in South Tynedale, Weardale, and Allendale, such as burn (stream), cleugh (ravine), hope (valley), law (hill) and linn (waterfall).

File:Rombalds moor trig.jpg, South Pennines]]

The northern Pennine range is bordered by the foothills of the Lake District, and uplands of the Howgill Fells, Orton Fells, Border Moors and Cheviot Hills. The West Pennine Moors, Rossendale Valley and Forest of Bowland are western spurs, the former two are in the South Pennines. The Howgill Fells and Orton Fells are sometimes considered to be part of the Pennines, both inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.{{cite web |title=Yorkshire Dales expand into Lancashire in national parks land grab |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/01/yorkshire-dales-expand-lancashire-national-parks-extension-leck-fell |first=Helen |last=Pidd |newspaper=The Guardian |date=August 2016 |access-date=20 January 2019}} The Pennines are fringed by extensive lowlands including the Eden Valley, West Lancashire Coastal Plain, Cheshire Plain, Vale of York, Humberhead Levels and the Midland Plains.

File:Clougha heather.jpg]]

The main range of the Pennines start from its southern end at the Weaver Hills in the Peak District.{{cite book |last1=Banks |first1=Francis Richard |title=English Villages |isbn=9787240005989 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u2pnAAAAMAAJ&q=weaver+hills+southern+end+pennines|year=1963|access-date=3 April 2024}} The southern foothills of the range merge into the valley and basin of the River Trent,{{Britannica |id=450075 |title=Pennines |access-date=28 February 2008}} separating the range from the Midland Plains to the south. The Pennines continue northwards across the Peak District and adjoin the South Pennines approximately around the Tame Valley, Standedge and Holme Valley. The South Pennines are separated from the Forest of Bowland by the Ribble Valley, and include the Rossendale Valley and West Pennine Moors in the west.{{Cite web |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/511867 |publisher=Natural England |title=NCA Profile: 36 Southern Pennines (NE323) |access-date=8 May 2022}} The range continues further north into the Aire Gap which separates the Yorkshire Dales from the South Pennines to the south and the Forest of Bowland to the southwest.{{cite web |title=The Aire Gap |url=http://www.yorkshire-dales.com/aire-gap.html |website=The Yorkshire Dales Website |accessdate=8 May 2022}} The main range then continues northwards across the Yorkshire Dales to the Stainmore Gap where it adjoins the North Pennines. The range continues into its northern end at the Tyne Gap,{{cite web |title=NCA Profile: 10. North Pennines (NE428) |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5682293 |website=Natural England |access-date=5 July 2022}} separating it from the Border Moors and Cheviot Hills across the Anglo-Scottish border.

Although the Pennines cover the area between the Peak District and the Tyne Gap, the Pennine Way affects perceptions of the southern and northern extents of the defined area. The southern end of the Pennines is said to be in the High Peak of Derbyshire at Edale, the start of the Pennine Way, but the main range continues south across the Peak District to the Weaver Hills, with its foothills merging into the Trent Valley. This encompasses eastern Cheshire, northern and eastern Staffordshire, and southern Derbyshire.{{cite book |title=Geography: Or, First Division of "The English Encyclopædia", Volume 3|year=1867 |publisher=Charles Knight |pages=69–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwhQAAAAMAAJ&q=uttoxeter+pennines+southern+end&pg=PA69 |access-date=10 December 2019}}{{cite web |title=City Centre Conservation Area |url=https://www.derby.gov.uk/media/derbycitycouncil/contentassets/documents/conservationareas/DerbyCityCouncil-conservation-area-city-centre.pdf |website=Derby City Council |access-date=19 August 2018}} Conversely, the Border Moors and Cheviot Hills, separated by the Tyne Gap and Whin Sill to the south, along which run the A69 and Hadrian's Wall, and River Tweed to the north,{{cite book |last1=Dick |first1=Archibald Hastie |title=An Elementary Geography for Schools |date=January 1868 |page=53 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/An_elementary_geography_for_schools/L2QDAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=cheviot+hills+between+the+tyne+and+tweed+valley&pg=PA53&printsec=frontcover |access-date=4 January 2025}} are not part of the Pennines but, perhaps because the Pennine Way crosses them, they are treated as such.

File:Stanage Edge.jpg in the Peak District]]

Most of the Pennine landscape is characterised by upland areas of high moorland indented by more fertile river valleys, although the landscape varies in different areas. The Peak District consists of hills, plateaus and valleys, divided into the Dark Peak with moorlands and gritstone edges, and the White Peak with limestone gorges.{{cite web|title = Landscape |url = http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/landscape |publisher = Peak District National Park|access-date = 22 July 2016 |archive-date = 14 September 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170914172129/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/landscape|url-status = dead}} The South Pennines is an area of hills and moorlands with narrow valleys between the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales.{{cite web |title = About the South Pennines|url = http://www.pennineprospects.co.uk/south-pennines| access-date = 22 July 2016}} Bowland is dominated by a central upland landform of deeply incised gritstone fells covered with tracts of heather-covered peat moorland, blanket bog and steep-sided wooded valleys linking the upland and lowland landscapes.{{cite web | title =The Landscape of The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) | publisher = Lancashire County Council| date =6 June 2007 | url =http://www.forestofbowland.com/wild_landscape.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207065917/http://www.forestofbowland.com/wild_landscape.asp |archive-date=7 February 2009 | access-date = 7 December 2007 }} The landscape is higher and more mountainous in the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines. The Yorkshire Dales are characterised by valleys, moorlands and fells{{cite web |title = Landscape|url = http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/about-the-dales/landscape| publisher = Yorkshire Dales National Park| access-date = 22 July 2016}} while the North Pennines consist of plateaus, moorlands, fells, edges and valleys, with most of the higher peaks in the west.

File:Crossfell.jpg, the highest point of the Pennines]]

Rising less than {{convert|3000|ft|m|-2}}, the Pennines are fells, with most of the mountainous terrain in the north. The highest point is Cross Fell in eastern Cumbria, at {{convert|2930|ft|m|0}} and other principal peaks in the North Pennines are Great Dun Fell {{convert|2782|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Mickle Fell {{convert|2585|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, and Burnhope Seat {{convert|2451|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. Principal peaks in the Yorkshire Dales include Whernside {{convert|2415|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Ingleborough {{convert|2372|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, High Seat {{convert|2328|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Wild Boar Fell {{convert|2324|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} and Pen-y-ghent {{convert|2274|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. Principal peaks in the Forest of Bowland include Ward's Stone {{convert|1841|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Fair Snape Fell {{convert|1710|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, and Hawthornthwaite Fell {{convert|1572|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. Terrain is lower towards the south and the only peaks which exceed {{convert|2000|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} are Kinder Scout {{convert|2087|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} and Bleaklow {{convert|2077|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} in the Peak District. Other principal peaks in the South Pennines and Peak District include Black Hill {{convert|1909|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Shining Tor {{convert|1834|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Pendle Hill {{convert|1827|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Black Chew Head {{convert|1778|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, Rombalds Moor {{convert|1319|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} and Winter Hill {{convert|1496|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}.

File:Across Ribblesdale from Moughton Nab - geograph.org.uk - 1502626.jpg, Yorkshire Dales]]

For much of their length the Pennines are the main watershed in northern England, dividing east and west. The rivers Eden, Ribble, Dane and tributaries of the Mersey (including the Irwell, Tame and Goyt) flow westwards towards the Irish Sea.

On the eastern side of the Pennines, the rivers Tyne, Wear, and Tees all drain directly to the North Sea. The Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe, Aire, Calder and Don all flow into the Yorkshire Ouse, and reach the sea through the Humber Estuary.

The River Trent flows around the southern end of the Pennines and northwards on the eastern side taking water from tributaries, principally the Dove and Derwent. The Trent drains the east and west sides of the southern Pennines, also reaching the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. The Trent and Ouse meet and enter the Humber at Trent Falls. Maximum discharge through the Humber can reach 1,500 m³/s (53,000 cu ft/s).{{cite web|url=http://www.iia.cnr.it/big_file/EUROCAT/publications/EUROCAT%20WD04.pdf |title=The Humber Catchment and its Coastal Area |publisher=University of East Anglia |year=2002 |first=Rachel |last=Cave |access-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202105806/http://www.iia.cnr.it/big_file/EUROCAT/publications/EUROCAT%20WD04.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2014 }}

File:Whernside and Ribblehead Viaduct.jpg, Yorkshire Dales]]

According to the Köppen classification, the Pennines generally have a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) like the rest of England, but the uplands have more precipitation, stronger winds and colder weather than the surrounding areas. Some of the higher elevations have a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), which may border a tundra (ET) and subarctic climate (Dfc) in areas like Great Dun Fell.{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/great-dun-fell-2#?tab=climateTables|title=Great Dun Fell 2 Climatic Averages 1981–2010|publisher=Met Office|access-date=22 December 2012}}

More snow falls on the Pennines than on surrounding lowland areas due to the elevation and distance from the coast; unlike lowland areas of England, the Pennines can have quite severe winters.

The northwest is amongst the wettest regions of England and much of the rain falls on the Pennines. The eastern side is drier than the west—the rain shadow shields northeast England from rainfall that would otherwise fall there.

Precipitation is important for the area's biodiversity and human population. Many towns and cities are located along rivers flowing from the range and in northwest England the lack of natural aquifers is compensated for by reservoirs.

Water has carved out limestone landscapes in the North Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and Peak District, with gorges and caves present in the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District. In some areas, precipitation has contributed to poor soils, resulting in part in moorland landscapes that characterize much of the range. In other areas where the soil has not been degraded, it has resulted in lush vegetation.

For the purpose of growing plants, the Pennines are in hardiness zones 7 and 8, as defined by the USDA. Zone 8 is common throughout most of the UK, and zone 7 is the UK's coldest hardiness zone. The Pennines, Scottish Highlands, Southern Uplands and Snowdonia are the only areas of the UK in zone 7.

{{Weather box

|location = Great Dun Fell, North Pennines
WMO ID: 03227; coordinates {{coord|54.68401|N|2.45132|W|type:landmark_region:GB|name=Great Dun Fell 2|format=dms}}; elevation: {{convert|847|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}; 1991–2020 normals

| collapsed =

| metric first = y

| single line = y

| Jan high C = 1.6

| Feb high C = 1.6

| Mar high C = 2.8

| Apr high C = 5.4

| May high C = 8.6

| Jun high C = 11.0

| Jul high C = 12.5

| Aug high C = 12.3

| Sep high C = 10.1

| Oct high C = 6.8

| Nov high C = 4.0

| Dec high C = 2.1

| year high C = 6.6

| Jan mean C = -0.4

| Feb mean C = -0.5

| Mar mean C = 0.6

| Apr mean C = 2.7

| May mean C = 5.6

| Jun mean C = 8.2

| Jul mean C = 10.0

| Aug mean C = 9.8

| Sep mean C = 7.8

| Oct mean C = 4.8

| Nov mean C = 2.1

| Dec mean C = 0.0

| year mean C = 4.2

| Jan low C = -2.4

| Feb low C = -2.6

| Mar low C = -1.6

| Apr low C = 0.0

| May low C = 2.7

| Jun low C = 5.5

| Jul low C = 7.5

| Aug low C = 7.4

| Sep low C = 5.6

| Oct low C = 2.8

| Nov low C = 0.2

| Dec low C = -2.1

| year low C = 1.9

| source 1 = Met Office{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcwr04zvq |title= Great Dun Fell 2 1991–2020 averages |access-date=10 March 2023|publisher=Met Office}}

}}

File:Thor's cave.jpg, Peak District]]

The Pennines have been carved from a series of geological structures whose overall form is a broad anticline whose axis extends in a north–south direction. The North Pennines are coincident with the Alston Block and the Yorkshire Dales are coincident with the Askrigg Block. In the south the Peak District is essentially a flat-topped dome.

Each of the structures consists of Carboniferous limestone overlain with Millstone Grit. The limestone is exposed at the surface in the North Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. In the Dales and the White Peak, limestone exposure has caused the formation of large cave systems and watercourses. In the Dales the caves or potholes are known as "pots" in the Yorkshire dialect. They include some of the largest caves in England at Gaping Gill, more than {{convert|350|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} deep and Rowten Pot, {{convert|365|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} deep. Titan in the Peak District, the deepest shaft known in Britain, is connected to Peak Cavern in Castleton, Derbyshire, the largest cave entrance in the country. Erosion of the limestone has led to geological formations, such as the limestone pavements at Malham Cove.

Between the northern and southern areas of exposed limestone between Skipton and the Dark Peak is a belt of exposed gritstone. Here the shales and sandstones of the Millstone Grit form high hills occupied by moorland covered with bracken, peat, heather and coarse grasses;[https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-400000-441000/page/4 page 4] and [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-400000-441000/page/5 page 5], Marginal Upland Grazing Sutton Moor, Domesday Reloaded, BBC 1986 the higher ground is uncultivable and barely fit for pasture.

File:Harkerside Moor.jpg]]

The Pennines contained Bronze Age settlements, and evidence remains of Neolithic settlement including many stone circles and henges, such as Long Meg and Her Daughters.{{cite web|url=http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/ |title=A landscape through time |publisher=Out of Oblivion |access-date=5 August 2011}}

The uplands were controlled by the tribal federation of the Brigantes, made up of small tribes who inhabited the area and cooperated on defence and external affairs. They evolved an early form of kingdom. During Roman times, the Brigantes were dominated by the Romans who exploited the Pennines for their natural resources including the wild animals found there.

The Pennines were an obstacle for Anglo-Saxon expansion westwards, although it appears the Anglo-Saxons travelled through the valleys. During the Dark Ages the Pennines were controlled by Celtic and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It is believed that the north Pennines were under the control of the kingdom of Rheged.

During Norse times the Pennines were settled by Viking Danes in the east and Norwegian Vikings in the west. The Vikings influenced place names, culture and genetics. When England was unified the Pennines were incorporated. The mix of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Viking heritage resembled much of the rest of northern England and its culture developed alongside its lowland neighbours in northwest and northeast England. The Pennines were not a distinct political polity, but were divided between neighbouring counties in northeast and northwest England; a major part was in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

The Pennine region is sparsely populated by English standards. Larger population centres are in the foothills and lowlands fringing the southern Pennine range, such as Barnsley, Chesterfield, Halifax, Huddersfield, Macclesfield, Oldham, Bury, Rochdale, Middleton, and Stockport but most of the northern Pennine range is thinly populated.{{cite web|url=http://www.mypennines.co.uk/north-pennines/#sthash.0yKQHkOw.dpbs|title=North Pennines|work = My Pennines|access-date=15 April 2016}} The cities of Bradford, Derby, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent and Wakefield are also in the surrounding foothills and lowlands. The Pennines contain the highest village in the United Kingdom, Flash, at {{convert|1519|ft|m|0}}, near the southern end of the range in Staffordshire.{{Cite news |title=The UK's highest mountain? It's not what you think |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/uk-highest-places/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/uk-highest-places/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The Telegraph |date=9 October 2017 |access-date=3 April 2024|last1=Smith |first1=Oliver }}{{cbignore}}

File:Tunstead Quarry - geograph.org.uk - 865006.jpg

The main economic activities in the Pennines include sheep farming, quarrying, finance and tourism. In the Peak District, tourism is the major local employment for park residents (24%), with manufacturing industries (19%) and quarrying (12%) also being important while 12% are employed in agriculture.{{cite web|url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/living-in.htm |title=A place called home |publisher=Peak District |year=2009 |access-date=5 November 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519001312/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/living-in.htm |archive-date=19 May 2009 }} Limestone is the most important mineral quarried, mainly for roads and cement, while other extracted materials include shale for cement and gritstone for building stone.{{cite web|url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/11.html#4 |title=Peak District National Park: Study Area |publisher=Peak District National Park |year=2003 |access-date=5 November 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050620074557/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/11.html |archive-date=20 June 2005 }} The springs at Buxton and Ashbourne are exploited to produce bottled mineral water and there are approximately 2,700 farms in the National Park.{{cite book |title=Geography An Integrated Approach |last=Waugh |first=D. |year=2000 |edition=3rd |isbn=0-17-444706-X |publisher=Nelson Thornes}} The South Pennines are predominantly industrial, with the main industries including textiles, quarrying and mining,{{cite web|title=South Pennines|url=http://www.walkridesouthpennines.co.uk/about.php|website=Pennine Prospects|access-date=5 November 2017}} while other economic activities within the South Pennines include tourism and farming.{{cite web|title=£1.2m fund available to South Pennines farm businesses|url=http://www.fwi.co.uk/business/1-2m-fund-available-to-south-pennines-farm-businessses.htm|website=Farmers Weekly|date=20 January 2017|access-date=5 November 2017}}

Although the Forest of Bowland is mostly rural, the main economic activities in the area include farming{{cite web|title=Farming|url=http://forestofbowland.com/Farming|website=Forest of Bowland|access-date=3 January 2018}} and tourism.{{cite book |title=Local Heritage, Global Context: Cultural Perspectives on Sense of Place|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrWoDQAAQBAJ&q=forest+of+bowland+economy+tourism&pg=PT61 |publisher=Routledge |date=2016 |first=Rosy |last=Szymanski|isbn = 9781351921640|access-date=3 January 2018}} In the Yorkshire Dales, tourism accounts for £350 million of expenditure every year while employment is mostly dominated by farming, accommodation and food sectors. There are also significant challenges for managing tourism, farming and other developments within the National Park.{{cite web|title=Economy|url=http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/looking-after/achievingourvision/economy|publisher=Yorkshire Dales National Park|access-date=5 November 2017}} The main economic activities in the North Pennines include tourism, farming, timber and small-scale quarrying, due to the rural landscape.{{cite web|title=Economy and business |url=http://www.northpennines.org.uk/about-us/annual-reviews/annual-review-2013-14/economy-and-business/|website=North Pennines AONB|access-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107002426/http://www.northpennines.org.uk/about-us/annual-reviews/annual-review-2013-14/economy-and-business/|archive-date=7 November 2017|url-status=dead}}

File:Gaps through Pennine Mountains UK topographic map.gif

Gaps that allow west–east communication across the Pennines include the Tyne Gap between the Pennines and the Cheviots, through which the A69 road and Tyne Valley railway link Carlisle and Newcastle upon Tyne. The A66 road, its summit at {{convert|1450|ft}}, follows the course of a Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith through the Stainmore Gap between the Eden Valley in Cumbria and Teesdale in County Durham. The Aire Gap links Lancashire and Yorkshire via the valleys of the Aire and Ribble. Other high-level roads include Buttertubs Pass, named from limestone potholes near its {{convert|1729|ft|adj=on}} summit, between Hawes in Wensleydale and Swaledale and the A684 road from Sedbergh to Hawes via Garsdale Head which reaches {{convert|1100|ft}}.{{cite web|title=Transpennine Crossings |url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Transpennine_Crossings |publisher=Sabre roads |access-date=14 August 2013}}

Further south the A58 road traverses the Calder Valley between West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester reaching {{convert|1282|ft}} between Littleborough and Ripponden, while the A646 road along the Calder Valley between Burnley and Halifax reaches {{convert|764|ft}} following valley floors. In the Peak District the A628 Woodhead road links the M67 motorway in Greater Manchester with the M1 motorway in South Yorkshire and Holme Moss is crossed by the A6024 road, whose highest point is near Holme Moss transmitting station between Longdendale and Holmfirth.

The Pennines are traversed by the M62 motorway, the highest motorway in England at {{convert|1221|ft}} on Windy Hill near Junction 23.

Three trans-Pennine canals built during the Industrial Revolution cross the range:

• The Huddersfield Narrow Canal connects Huddersfield in the east with Manchester in the west. When it reaches Marsden, it passes under the range through the Standedge Tunnel to Diggle. Fortnightly during the summer season, one can pass through the tunnel on a public narrowboat.{{cite web |url=https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/standedge-tunnel-and-visitor-centre |title=Standedge Tunnel & Visitor Centre: Opening times and prices |publisher=Canal and River Trust |access-date=15 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907224517/http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/standedge-tunnel/visit-us/opening-times-and-prices |archive-date=7 September 2013 }}
• The Rochdale Canal crosses the Pennines via Rochdale, connecting the market town of Sowerby Bridge with Manchester.
• The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the longest and most northerly, crosses the Pennines via Skipton, Burnley, Chorley and Wigan connecting Leeds in the east with Liverpool in the west.

File:Class 76 locomotives 76033 and 76031 at Woodhead on 24th March 1981.jpeg train about to enter the western portal of Woodhead 3, shortly before closure in 1981]]

The first of three Woodhead Tunnels was completed by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845, engineered by Charles Vignoles and Joseph Locke. At the time of its completion in 1845, Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels at a length of 3 miles 13 yards (4,840 m); it was the first of several trans-Pennine tunnels including the Standedge and Totley tunnels, which are only slightly longer. The first two tunnels were replaced by Woodhead 3, which was longer at 3 miles 66 yards (4860m). It was bored for the overhead electrification of the route and completed in 1953. The tunnel was opened by the transport minister Alan Lennox-Boyd on 3 June 1954.{{cite web|url=http://railways-of-britain.com/Woodhead.html|title=The Woodhead Route|work=Railways of Britain|access-date=27 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302082848/http://railways-of-britain.com/Woodhead.html|archive-date=2 March 2008}} It was designed by Sir William Halcrow & Partners. The line was closed in 1981.

The London and North Western Railway acquired the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway in 1847 and built a single-line tunnel parallel to the canal tunnel at Standedge with a length of 3 miles, 57 yards (4803 m). Today rail services along the Huddersfield line between Huddersfield and Victoria and Piccadilly stations in Manchester are operated by TransPennine Express and Northern. Between 1869 and 1876 the Midland Railway built the Settle-Carlisle Line through remote, scenic regions of the Pennines from near Settle to Carlisle passing Appleby-in-Westmorland and other settlements, some a distance from their stations. The line has survived, despite difficult times{{cite web |title=History |url= http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/explore-the-line/history/ |publisher=settle-carlisle.co.uk|access-date=15 August 2013}} and is operated by Northern Rail.{{cite web |url=https://settle-carlisle.co.uk/tickets-times-travel/timetables/ |title=Timetables – The Settle Carlisle Railway |date=1010 |publisher=The Settle–Carlisle Railway |access-date=1 August 2020}}

The Trans Pennine Trail, a long-distance route for cyclists, horse riders and walkers, runs west–east alongside rivers and canals, along disused railway tracks and through historic towns and cities from Southport to Hornsea ({{convert|207|mi|km|disp=x|/}}).{{citation |url=http://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/template.asp?ID=0&parentID=481 |title=Welcome to the Trans Pennine Trail |publisher=transpenninetrail.org.uk |access-date=14 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019201343/http://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/template.asp?ID=0&parentID=481 |archive-date=19 October 2013 }} It crosses the north–south Pennine Way ({{convert|268|mi|km|disp=x|/}}) at Crowden-in-Longdendale.

File:National Parks and AONBs in Northern England.svg

Considerable areas of the Pennines are protected as UK national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, also known as "national landscapes", are afforded much the same protection as national parks. The national parks within the Pennines are the Peak District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park with the Northumberland National Park sometimes also included.

The North Pennines AONB just north of the Yorkshire Dales rivals the national park in size and includes some of the Pennines' highest peaks and its most isolated and sparsely populated areas. Other AONBs are Nidderdale east of the Yorkshire Dales, and the Bowland Fells, including Pendle Hill, west of the Yorkshire Dales.

The only significant unprotected section is the area between Skipton and Marsden.

The language used in pre-Roman and Roman times was Common Brittonic. During the Early Middle Ages, the Cumbric language developed. Little evidence of Cumbric remains, so it is difficult to ascertain whether or not it was distinct from Old Welsh. The extent of the region in which Cumbric was spoken is also unknown.

During Anglo-Saxon times the area was settled by Anglian peoples of Mercia and Northumbria, rather than the Saxon people of Southern England. Celtic speech remained in most areas of the Pennines longer than it did in the surrounding areas of England. Eventually, the Celtic tongue of the Pennines was replaced by early English as Anglo-Saxons and Vikings settled the area and assimilated the Celts.{{cite book|title=A Social History of English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dy-EAgAAQBAJ&q=Celtic+speech+remained+in+most+areas+of+the+Pennines+longer+than+it+did+in+the+surrounding+areas+of+England&pg=PA15|page=15 |publisher=Routledge |date=2005 |first=Dick |last=Leith |isbn=113471145X |access-date=9 November 2017}}

During the Viking Age Scandinavian settlers brought their language, Old Norse. The fusion of Norse influences into Old English was important in the formation of Middle English and hence Modern English, and many individual words of Norse descent remain in use in local dialects, such as that of Yorkshire, and in local place names.

The folklore and customs are mostly based on Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Viking customs and folklore.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}} Many customs and stories have their origin in Christianised pagan traditions.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}} In the Peak District, a notable custom is well dressing, which has its origin in pagan traditions that became Christianised.{{cite book|title=Ritual Journeys With Great British Goddesses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6xf9nYgsxAC&q=peak+district+well+dressing+pagan+traditions+christianised&pg=PA148|page=148|first=Susie |last=Fox |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1466946521 |date=2012 |access-date=9 November 2017}}

Flora in the higher Pennines is adapted to moorland and subarctic landscapes and climates. The flora found there can be found in other areas of moorland in Northern Europe and some species are also found in areas of tundra. In the Pennine millstone grit areas above an altitude of {{convert|900|ft}} the topsoil is so acidic, pH 2 to 4, that it can grow only bracken, heather, sphagnum, and coarse grasses such as cottongrass, purple moor grass and heath rush.{{cite book |title=The Yorkshire Dales: South and West |last1=Kelsall |first1=Dennis |first2=Jan |last2=Kelsall |year=2008 |publisher=Cicerone |location=Milnthorpe |isbn=978-1-85284-485-1 |page=26}} As the Ice age glacial sheets retreated c. 11,500 BC trees returned and archaeological palynology can identify their species. The first trees to settle were willow, birch and juniper, followed later by alder and pine. By 6500 BC temperatures were warmer and woodlands covered 90% of the dales with mostly pine, elm, lime and oak. On the limestone soils the oak was slower to colonize and pine and birch predominated. Around 3000 BC a noticeable decline in tree pollen indicates that neolithic farmers were clearing woodland to increase grazing for domestic livestock, and studies at Linton Mires and Eshton Tarn find an increase in grassland species.{{Cite book |last=White |first=Robert |title=The Yorkshire Dales, A landscape Through Time |orig-year=1997 |edition=new |year=2005 |publisher=Great Northern Books |location=Ilkley, Yorkshire |isbn=1-905080-05-0}} On poorly drained impermeable areas of millstone grit, shale or clays the topsoil gets waterlogged in winter and spring. Here tree suppression combined with the heavier rainfall results in blanket bog up to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} thick. The erosion of peat still exposes stumps of ancient trees.

{{blockquote|text="In digging it away they frequently find vast fir trees, perfectly sound, and some oaks ..."|sign= Arthur Young|source= A Six Months' Tour of the North of England (1770){{cite book |author-link=Arthur Young (agriculturist) |first=Arthur |last=Young |date=1770 |title=A Six Months' Tour of the North of England |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOA_AQAAMAAJ&q=in+digging+it+away&pg=PA270 |page=270 |publisher=W. Strahan}}}}

Limestone areas of the Pennines in the White Peak,{{cite web |url=https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/nature-reserves/deep-dale |title=Deep Dale |publisher=Plantlife |access-date=1 August 2020}} Yorkshire Dales{{cite web |url=https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/important-plant-areas/yorkshire-dales-limestone |title=Yorkshire Dales Limestone IPA |publisher=Plantlife |access-date=1 August 2020}} and Upper Teesdale{{cite web |url=https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/important-plant-areas/moor-house-upper-teesdale |title=Moor House to Upper Teesdale IPA |publisher=Plantlife |access-date=1 August 2020}} have been designated as nature reserves or Important Plant Areas by the botanical conservation charity Plantlife,{{cite web |url=https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/important-plant-areas |title=Important Plant Areas |publisher=Plantflie |access-date=1 August 2020}} and are nationally important for their wildflowers.

File:Two grouse "picked" after the previous day's shoot. - geograph.org.uk - 547403.jpg is an economically important activity in the Pennines.{{Citation needed|reason=I can't find any sources which confirm significant economic importance.|date=March 2023}}]]

Fauna in the Pennines is similar to the rest of England and Wales, but the area hosts some specialised species. Deer are found throughout the Pennines and some species of animals that are rare elsewhere in England can be found here. Arctic hares, which were common in Britain during the Ice Age and retreated to the cooler, more tundra-like uplands once the climate warmed up, were introduced to the Dark Peak area of the Peak District in the 19th century.

Large areas of heather moorland in the Pennines are managed for driven shooting of wild red grouse. The related and declining black grouse is still found in northern parts of the Pennines. Other birds whose English breeding strongholds are in the Pennines include golden plover, snipe, curlew, dunlin, merlin, short-eared owl, ring ouzel and twite,{{cite book |title=The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1998–1991 |author=Gibbons|publisher=T & A D Poyser |isbn=0-85661-075-5 |year=1993|display-authors=etal}} though many of these are at the southern limit of their distributions and are more common in Scotland.

• Geography of England
• Geology of Great Britain
• Geology of Yorkshire
• North Pennines
• South Pennines
• Yorkshire Three Peaks

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Pennines (hills)}}

• [http://www.pennineedgeforest.org.uk/ The Pennine Edge Forest Network]
• [http://www.pennineprospects.co.uk/ Pennine Prospects]
• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Pennine Chain |short=x}}

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Category:Mountain ranges of England

Pennines

Pennines

Pennines

Pennines

Pennines

Category:Hills of Staffordshire

Category:Mountains and hills of England

Category:Physiographic provinces

Category:Northern England