Tag: Moorland

The Dark Peak, The Peak DistrictLeave a comment

Harry Hut on Chunal Moor

richardpeakwalkingadventures

Chunal Moor is a beautiful area of high, heather covered moorland in the Dark Peak with paths leading onto it from two points on the A624 between Hayfield and Glossop, and from Mill Hill. Upon studying the Ordnance Survey map, you will see the highest point on the moor is named Harry Hut. So who was Harry and where is his hut? Well, it appears that no-one knows! There is certainly no hut there now, but there are a few loose rocks around the trig point, so maybe Harry did build some kind of shelter there many years ago. What … Continue reading Harry Hut on Chunal Moor

The Dark Peak, Wild Flowers and TreesLeave a comment

Devil’s Matchsticks

richardpeakwalkingadventures

Quite a common site on the high moorlands of the Dark Peak, but maybe not everyone knows what they are? These are commonly known Devil’s Matchsticks. Like all lichens, the Devil’s matchstick is actually two organisms working together: a fungus and an algae in a symbiotic relationship. The red tips are the fruiting bodies of the fungal component of the lichen. Have a look for them next time you are walking across the Peak District’s peat covered moorlands. Continue reading Devil’s Matchsticks

The Dark Peak, Wild Flowers and TreesLeave a comment

Ling Heather on the Moors

richardpeakwalkingadventures

Now is a great time to see the ling heather on the moors in all its glory.  Whole moorlands in the Peak District appear to be carpeted in purple!  The heather has been late flowering this year, probably due to the cooler than usual and wet weather that we have experienced over the summer.  The displays of flowering heather that we have seen over the weekend on our half day guided walks and Derwent Edge Walk, have however been well worth waiting for. Continue reading Ling Heather on the Moors

History, The Dark Peak, The Peak District, Wild Flowers and TreesLeave a comment

The wonders of Stanton Moor

richardpeakwalkingadventures

Yesterday we enjoyed a short walk onto Stanton Moor from the village of Birchover.  As well as being carpeted in beautiful purple ling heather, there are also a wealth of interesting features on the moor to marvel over.  Stanton Moor is believed to have once been a very special place to our ancestors.  In Bronze age times the landscape would have been very different with fertile farmland, and timber roundhouses scattered over the area.  Evidence has been found all over the moor of field boundaries, burial mounds, and stone circles.  The best known stone circle is the Nine Ladies.  Local legend … Continue reading The wonders of Stanton Moor

The Dark Peak, The Peak District, Wild Flowers and Trees3 Comments

Three types of heather on the moors

richardpeakwalkingadventures

This morning our ‘Nature Walk’ took us onto the Peak District moorland along Burbage Edge and across the beautiful Burbage Basin. It is a wonderful time to be walking on the moors as the heather is just beginning to come into flower.  It will be a few weeks yet however before it is at its best. There are three types of heather in the Peak District.  Ling Heather is by far the most common and it is the Ling Heather that gives the impression of our hills and moorlands being carpeted in purple.  Less common is the Bell Heather which has … Continue reading Three types of heather on the moors