Carrickmore Hills Landscape

Key Characteristics

• Steep, rocky summits with a crinkled ridge-top profile, separated by extensive moss and small, rounded loughs.Irregular, deeply undulating landform in areas of glacial moraine.
• On higher land, small, rough pastures are enclosed by gorse hedgerows and wire fences or by granite boulders and earthbanks form the margins to some fields.
• Rolling lowland landscape of poor quality farmland with patches of marsh and rush-infested pastures in low-lying areas.
• Narrow, twisting roads link scattered farms on lower slopes; small settlement clusters are concentrated at junctions.
• Scrubby woodland on margins of marsh; tree cover becomes sparse and the landscape more exposed on elevated land.
• Extensive sand and gravel quarrying.

Landscape Description

The Carrickmore Hills are a distinctive upland landscape to the south of the Sperrins. The area is underlain by a variety of igneous rocks which form an elevated plateau, with numerous steep, rocky granite summits, including Evishanoran Mountain, Cregganmore and Loughmacrory Hill. Parts of the plateau are raised bog and there are numerous rounded loughs, particularly in an area known as The Murrins. The landform of the plateau is undulating, with ridges of glacial moraine and rocky outcrops giving the landscape an irregular pattern and scale. The summits have a more irregular, rocky landform and distinctive, crinkled silhouettes which are landmarks for miles around.

Fields on the fringes of the upland have a more even scale and form, but become increasingly irregular and deeply undulating on the steep slopes of the rocky summits. Most are partially enclosed by hedges and wire fencing, with rough stone walls made of large boulders in some areas. Gorse predominates in the hedgerows, giving them a distinctive, lumpy character. Scrubby, regenerating birch/alder woodlands give an irregular, patchy landscape pattern in poorly drained hollows. The uplands are exposed, with relatively few hedgerow trees, except at the entrances to farms. There are some small blocks of conifers, for instance to the north of Pomeroy, and occasional larger plantations. Hedgerow ash trees are common around fields at lower elevations, where houses are located at road junctions and small farms set back from the road and reached by narrow, angular tracks.

Many of the ridges of moraine have been carved by quarries, particularly on the edges of the plateau. Many of the quarries are small in scale, but nevertheless leave substantial scars and hollows.

Landscape Condition and Sensitivity to Change

This is a landscape of marginal farmland, which has a rough character and is in relatively poor condition. Few of the field boundaries are complete, there are substantial areas of waste ground and fly tipping is a common problem. The upland summits are relatively small in comparison to the surrounding uplands and their distinctive rocky skylines are extremely sensitive to change.

The uplands are a landmark from a wide area and even small changes, due to mineral extraction, built development or the introduction of forestry would have a detrimental impact. The most obvious current pressure is from sand and gravel quarries; the area is pitted with quarry scars and spoil heaps. There is a possibility that the rich archaeological heritage is at risk.

Principles for Landscape Management

• This diverse, irregular landscape pattern would easily be masked by extensive commercial forestry; extensive tree planting in upland areas requires careful visual analysis.
• There are opportunities to restore some of the quarries, maximising their ecological value and removing fly-tipping or derelict plant.
• The restoration of earth banks and stone walls, using local boulders, would conserve this unique landscape feature.

Principles for Accommodating New Development

• The wild character and small-scale undulating landform of upland areas could be eroded by built development, particularly if the buildings are of a substantial scale.
• On the lowland fringes the rolling landform, tree cover and scattered settlement pattern suggest that there are opportunities to accommodate further built development, provided it is accompanied by substantial planting.
• Whitewashed buildings and red-roofed barns are characteristic features of the landscape which could be imitated by new development.