A farm is opening its gates to the public to celebrate the marvellous meadows of the North Pennines.

The team from the North Pennines AONB Partnership has worked with the Scott family from Low Way Farm in Holwick as part of the Tees-Swale: naturally connected programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Together they will be holding an event for National Meadows Day on July 1 that will celebrate this rare and important habitat for wildflowers, which support a whole range of invertebrates and birds.

The North Pennines AONB and UNESCO Global Geopark contains almost half of the remaining species-rich upland hay meadows in the UK.

This fun, family event runs from 10am to 3pm and will include displays of farming machinery old and new, and machinery used for meadow restoration, botany walks around the meadows, arts and craft activities, an opportunity to look closely at the special species of plants through a microscope, and displays of typical upland hay meadow species grown from hand-collected local seed.

There will also be ameadow restoration talk and historic hay-time photographs on show.

Low Way Farm is easily accessible by car and can also be accessed directly from the Pennine Way, a short walk from either Middleton-in-Teesdale or Bowlees Visitor Centre. The event site is surrounded by upland hay meadows that are typical of the local area.

Patrick Oulton, farming and nature officer at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “Farming practices in the uplands mean that many of these meadows are being managed in much the same way that they have been for generations, protecting these unique habitats in the North Pennines, while also producing high quality feed for livestock.

"Even though the machinery available to farmers has changed beyond all recognition from scythes to large tractors and mowers, and from handmade pikes of hay to modern balers, the management regime of upland meadows is similar now to 200 years ago.

“We’re really pleased to be able to invite people along for the day to immerse themselves in the beauty of hay meadows, and also to get a sense of the rich history behind them.”

The North Pennines AONB Partnership has worked with the Scotts at Low Way Farm for over 15 years. The hay meadows were first surveyed as part of the Hay Time project in 2006 and over the years since a number of these valuable meadows have been restored and enhanced by adding species-rich green hay and planting out flowers grown from local, hand-collected seed.

Through the Tees-Swale programme wildflower plants have been planted out to enhance two meadows and the team has hosted several farmer training events on the farm. The camping barn is also being used to host youth groups and schools.