Page:Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1867).djvu/98

80 has been already given. The sandstone sweeps down from Black Heddon to underlie the basalt, and on the north never recovers its altitude. For several miles northward the ridge is only about 400 feet in altitude, and beyond Lowick it is even lower, but still, in many places, only partially cultivated. From Berwick southward to Belford the coast is low and sandy. There are three principal streams, but the low cultivated country between the ridge and the sea is only from 2 to 4 miles broad. The northern part of Holy Island is a sweep of low waste sand-hill, but on the south, about the castle and the village, the basalt appears. Along the low stretch of sandy shore opposite Holy Island, from Ross Point past Fenham to Beal, is one of the best stations along the coast for maritime plants. Above Easington and Belford small patches of basaltic crag again appear. Next comes a longer stream called the Warn Burn, which flows down a wooded hollow past Twizell House to the sea. On the east of this the basaltic crags stretch with interruptions from Spindlestone to the coast at Bambro'. This part of the ridge yields several interesting plants, amongst which are Spiraea filipendula, Hieracium pallidum, Vicia lathyroides, Allium schoenoprasum, Moenchia erecta, Potentilla alpestris, Sedum villosum, and Arenaria verna. The last three are plants of such well-marked montane character that their occurrence here is worthy of attention, as the ridge is under 150 yards in altitude, and quite isolated from any of the higher hills, and the Arenaria does not occur anywhere else in Cheviot-land. The basalt comes out in full force along the shore from Bambro' southward. The Farne Islands are all basaltic outliers, and past Beadnell, Swinhoe, and Embleton to Cullernose, near the Howick grounds, are several fine faces of crag, with low sandy depressions between them. The area of this district is about 150 square miles.