All over the Peak District moorlands bilberries are now in flower. The berries will ripen in August and are delicious! Bilberries are known in other parts of the country by other names such as Whinberries or Whortleberries but they are the same thing. Continue reading Bilberry Flowers on the Moors
We saw our first Bluebells of the year on Tuesday in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District, just coming into flower. They are often a little later here than further south in the country. Native bluebells are protected against sale by law. That means it is illegal to dig up the bulbs from the wild in order to sell them, and if you don’t own the land it is illegal to dig them up for any purpose. Some estimates suggest the UK has up to half of the world’s total bluebell population. They like damp places without too much sunlight, so … Continue reading Bluebells in the Dark Peak
We were treated to a lovely close up view of this Peregrine Falcon during our walk on Kinder Scout today. Continue reading Peregrine Falcon on Kinder Scout
On our Stanage & Bamford Edges guided walk today we enjoyed some stunning views of Stanage Edge, Bamford Edge, and the surrounding hills and moorlands in the snow. I don’t think any of us expected to be walking in snow over Easter but we had a really enjoyable day. Our Stanage & Bamford Edges walk is great without snow too! Why not give it a try? http://www.peakwalking.com/day-walks/open-group-walks/stanage-and-bamford-edges/ Continue reading Easter Snow in the Peak District
Dew ponds are a familiar sight to anyone who walks regularly in the White Peak area of the Peak District. They were originally formed to provide a water source to farm animals in areas where water was not present naturally. It is believed that they took their name, not from the fact that they collected the dew, but from a Victorian pond maker called Mr Dew. During the 70s and early 80s it is possible that as many as 50% of our dew ponds were lost due to infills and neglect. Dew ponds are important habitats for wildlife. In particular the great … Continue reading Dew Ponds of the White Peak
We saw our first catkins of the year today. A sure sign that spring is on its way! These are the catkins of the Common Alder Tree. Each tree bears both male and female flowers. The male catkins are dark yellow-brown in colour, and are around 4 cm long when they are fully open. The female flowers are much smaller in size, and cone-like in shape. In this photo you can see the male catkins, and the old woody cones of last years female flowers. Continue reading Catkins
High Tor is a great limestone outcrop which towers almost 400 feet about the river Derwent between Matlock and Matlock Bath. The limestone was formed about 325 – 350 million years ago when the area was at the bottom of a shallow tropical sea. Over millions of years, limey muds and the shells and skeletons of tiny sea creatures settled on the bottom and formed a thick layer of limestone. Large areas of limestone such as High Tor have been pushed upwards by land movements and further shaped by glacial meltwaters at the end of the last ice age. You can walk up … Continue reading High Tor, Matlock Bath
On Friday whilst walking down beautiful Wolfscote Dale and Biggin Dale I couldn’t resist the temptation to explore some caves on the side of the valley that looked rather inviting. The White Peak, limestone area of the Peak District has numerous caves systems, many of which were carved out thousands of years ago by underground rivers forcing their way through, and eroding the soft limestone rock. The first that I explored was at the entrance to Wolfscote Dale. It was a bit of a scramble to get into it. The limestone at the entrance was polished to a smooth sheen from the hands and feet … Continue reading Caves in the White Peak
Autumn and winter are great times to see the many abandoned millstones that are scattered beneath the famous gritstone edges of the eastern Dark Peak. During the summer months these iconic features tend to be hidden from view by bracken which grows prolifically in the area. Millstone production, along with lead mining was one of the main medieval industries of the Peak District and the two main centres of production were above Hathersage and Baslow. Production is believed to have started as early as the 14th century, reaching its peak in the late 16th and 17th centuries. It was a huge … Continue reading Millstones on the Moors
At this time of year, walk into any woodland in the Peak District and you are likely to find a wide variety of fungi. Here are a few of the specimens that we found today amongst the trees and grassland on the side of Woodlands Valley near to Ladybower Reservoir. We have attempted to identify some of the fungi, but if there are any experts out there who could help us by identifying, clarifying, or verifying, your comments would be most welcome! Continue reading Fantastic Fungi
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