Peak Walking Adventures

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August is a great month to see the Peak District moorlands in their full glory, covered in flowering ling heather.  Whole hillsides take on a purple appearance whilst closer inspection reveals tiny clusters of flowers.

It is also a good time for insects such as bees which are attracted by the heather. 

We actually have three different types of heather in the Peak District:  Bell Heather, Cross Leaved Heather, and Ling Heather.  The first two are well worth seeking out, but it is the latter that is the most common which creates the beautiful purple carpets over our hills and moorlands.  

After several days of rain, the high moorlands in the Peak District are looking beautiful.  The peat bogs which has been drying out are now wet and spongy again.  Ling heather is just starting to come into flower, and bilberry bushes are starting to bear fruit.  We have seen an unusually large number of young red grouse this week on Stanage Edge, Bamford Moor, and on Kinder Scout.  We have also seen several Golden Plover, known as the ‘watchmen of the moors’.    

The recent warm, dry weather has been great for walking, but is not so good for the delicate ecosystems of our high moorlands.  Peat bogs on high moorland areas such as Kinder Scout and Bleaklow are becoming really dry.  Areas of peat are more prone to erosion when they dried out, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and resulting in a reduction in vegetation.  There is also the increased risk of fire.  A lot of work has been done in recent years by organisations such as the Moors for the Future Partnership in blocking gullies and restoring vegetation in an effort to raise the water table, but even this has not been enough to keep the peat bogs wet this year. 

When visiting these beautiful moors, this makes it even more important than ever that we minimise our impact on the environment by choosing our routes carefully to avoid causing further erosion, and by taking every precaution possible to avoid the starting of fires.   

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During the summer months, many Derbyshire villages produce well dressings.  This centuries old tradition involves making colourful plaques decorated with flower petals and other items from nature to make pictures.  They are placed at the sources of fresh water such as wells and springs throughout the village.

These pictures are a selection of well dressings in Ashford-in-the-Water and in Wirksworth and were taken on our guided walks on 30th and 31st May.     

We saw our first red groups chicks of the year today on our walk on Kinder Scout.  Only just hatched out I would guess.

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Bluebells along with other spring flowers have been late this year, however during May we have enjoyed walking through bluebell woods on several of our guided walks both in the Hope Valley area, and in the Derbyshire Dales. 

Even yesterday almost into June, Bow Wood near Lea Bridge was still carpeted with these beautiful blue flowers, and on Thursday, we strolled through meadows containing bluebells near to Bretton Clough.

They usually prefer shady areas such as woodland but do occasionally grow in sunlit areas.

In England, wild bluebells are protected by law and it is an offence to remove bulbs or trade in bluebell plants or seeds.

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Here are a small selection of the beautiful spring flowers that we have seen on our walks in the Peak District over the last few weeks.

 

They have all been late this year due to the exceptionally cold winter, but bluebells are now just starting to come out, and pretty white flowers such as Wood Sorrel, and Wood Anemones are carpeting the floors of shady woodland areas. 

 

There should be more to follow as we move into May! 

We were lucky enough to see Ring Ouzels on our walk today on Derwent Edge.  These birds which look a bit like a blackbird with a white ring around the front of their neck, spend the winter in Spain or North Africa and migrate north each year in April to nest. 

Their numbers have declined substantially over recent years and there are now believed to be only around 7,000 breeding pairs returning to the UK each year. 

They favour rocky hillsides for their nesting grounds, and in the Peak District as we usually get a few nesting pairs on the gritstone crags of Stanage Edge and Derwent Edge.         

Stoats are widely distributed throughout rural Derbyshire.  They are a small mammal with a sausage-shaped body and short legs, and are usually coloured gingery brown.  On our walk today the stoat we saw moving amongst the heather on the edge of the moorland was pure white with just a black tip to its tail.  Stoats in upland areas do sometimes turn white during the winter to camouflage themselves against the snow.  This little creature had been left highly conspicuous as the moorland snow in this area has now melted.  Unfortunately it was camera shy so we didn’t manage to get a photograph.

Later in the week on Kinder Scout we will be looking out for mountain hares with their silvery white winter coats.    

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While many people have been grousing about the snow which has lingered for many weeks in the Peak District, last Sunday we were up on Derwent Edge watching the grouse make their way about in the snow!  (Red Grouse to be precise)

There are estimated to be over 5,000 breading pairs of Red Grouse in the Peak District, so it is not unusual see see them on our moorland walks.  The males can be instantly recognised by their distinctive red ‘eyebrows’. 

It really was a great day to be out walking, with brilliant sunshine, fantastic views, but temperatures well below freezing. 

Why not try our ‘Dramatic Derwent’ guided walk onto Derwent Edge yourself?