Castle Eden Dene
Description
Castle Eden Dene is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve in the Easington district of County Durham, England. It is located mostly in Peterlee, between the A19 and A1086 roads.The dene is the largest, and biologically the richest, of a series of deep ravines that have been incised through the Magnesian Limestone and overlying boulder clay of coastal Durham by streams flowing into the North Sea. It is the largest area of semi-natural woodland in north-east England and, because the steep valley sides are mostly inaccessible, it has suffered relatively little from human interference.The majority of the woodland is dominated by ash, Fraxinus excelsior, and wych elm, Ulmus glabra, though sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus is well-established and yew, Taxus baccata, is common. This last is said to have given the dene its name, "Eden" being derived from the earlier "Yoden", or Yew dene, though an alternative explanation is that "Eden" and "Yoden" derive from Old English Idun, itself a derivative of Indo-European pid, meaning "a spring, water".
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