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77-653: Ladybrook Valley begins in the Peak District , England , and runs through the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport . In its 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) course, the brook falls 275 metres (902 ft). At various points it is called Bollinhurst Brook, Norbury Brook, Bramhall Brook, the Ladybrook and the Mickerbrook. The valley has some notable features along its course including Bramall Park and

154-607: A continuous flow in the River Etherow , which was essential for local industry and provided drinking water for Manchester. In a report for the Manchester Corporation , John Frederick Bateman wrote in 1846: Within ten or twelve miles of Manchester, and six or seven miles from the existing reservoirs at Gorton, there is this tract of mountain land abounding with springs of the purest quality. Its physical and geological features offer such peculiar features for

231-482: A covering of peat . On western moors, the peat layer may be several metres thick. Scottish "muirs" are generally heather moors, but also have extensive covering of grass , cotton-grass , mosses , bracken and under-shrubs such as crowberry , with the wetter moorland having sphagnum moss merging into bog-land . There is uncertainty about how many moors were created by human activity. Oliver Rackham writes that pollen analysis shows that some moorland, such as in

308-533: A higher standard. The early Arkwright mills were of light construction, narrow, about 9 feet (2.7 m) wide and low, the ceiling height being only 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) and lit by daylight. The new machines were powered by water wheels . The Peak was the ideal location, with its rivers and humid atmosphere. The local pool of labour was quickly exhausted and Litton Mill and Cressbrook Mill in Millers Dale brought in children as young as four from

385-487: A journey through the Peak in 1697, wrote of: ...Craggy hills Whose Bowells are full of mines of all kinds off Black and white and veined Marbles, and some have mines of Copper, others tinn and Leaden mines, in w is a great deale of silver. Coal measures occur on the Peak's western and eastern fringes. Evidence of past workings can be found from Glossop to The Roaches , and from Stocksbridge to Baslow . The coal measures in

462-542: A result, burning is now a controversial practice; Rackham calls it "second-best land management". Mechanical cutting of the heather has been used in Europe, but it is important for the material to be removed to avoid smothering regrowth. If heather and other vegetation are left for too long, a large volume of dry and combustible material builds up. This may result in a wildfire burning out a large area, although it has been found that heather seeds germinate better if subject to

539-472: A sensitivity to nature and one's physical surroundings grew with the rise of interest in landscape painting , and particularly the works of artists that favoured wide and deep prospects, and rugged scenery. To the English Romantic imagination, moorlands fitted this image perfectly, enhancing the emotional impact of the story by placing it within a heightened and evocative landscape. Moorland forms

616-540: Is a show cave . Small-scale mining takes place in Treak Cliff Cavern . Industrial limestone quarrying to make soda ash started around Buxton in 1874. In 1926 the operation of the Buxton lime industry became part of ICI . Large-scale limestone and gritstone quarrying flourished as lead mining declined, and is an important if contentious industry. Of the twelve large limestone quarries in operation, Tunstead

693-525: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Cheshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines . Mostly in Derbyshire , it extends into Cheshire , Greater Manchester , Staffordshire , West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire . It

770-510: Is a by-product of fluorite, baryte and calcite mining. Bell pits were sunk to access ore that lay close to the surface. Fluorite or fluorspar is called Blue John locally, its name possibly from the French bleu et jaune describing its colour. Blue John is scarce and now only a few hundred kilograms are mined each year for ornamental and lapidary use. The Blue John Cavern in Castleton

847-556: Is a native perennial of limestone cliffs discovered by J. N. Mills in 1966 and described as a new species in 1968; and leek-coloured hawkweed ( H. subprasinifolium ), which was believed extinct until rediscovered on banks beside the Monsal Trail in Chee Dale in 2017. The endemic Derbyshire feather moss ( Thamnobryum angustifolium ) occurs in one Derbyshire limestone dale, its sole world location intentionally kept confidential;

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924-498: Is higher. The higher rainfall does not affect the temperature, which averages the same as the rest of England and Wales at 10.3 °C (50.5 °F). In the 1970s, the Dark Peak regularly had more than 70 days of snowfall. Since then the number has fallen. The hills still see long periods of continuous snow cover in some winters. Snow in mid-December 2009 on some hill summits created some snow patches that lasted until May 2010. In

1001-893: Is home to an estimated 10–15% of the world's moors. Notable areas of upland moorland in Britain include the Lake District , the Pennines (including the Dark Peak and Forest of Bowland ), Mid Wales , the Southern Uplands of Scotland, the Scottish Highlands , and a few pockets in the West Country . Moorlands are called páramos in Spanish. They are particularly common in Northern Spain and

1078-467: Is marked by millstone grit outcrops and broad swathes of moorland. Earth movements after the Carboniferous period resulted in the up-doming of the area and, particularly in the west, the folding of the rock strata along north–south axes. The region was raised in a north–south line which resulted in the dome-like shape and the shales and sandstones were worn away until limestone was exposed. At

1155-565: Is on a track near Deer Hill in Meltham ; its southernmost point is on the A52 road near Ashbourne . The boundaries were drawn to exclude built-up and industrial areas; in particular Buxton and the quarries at the end of the Peak Dale corridor are surrounded on three sides by the park. Bakewell and many villages are in the national park, as is much of the rural west of Sheffield. In 2010 it became

1232-400: Is one of the largest in Europe. Total limestone output was substantial: at the 1990 peak, 8.5 million tonnes was produced. Textiles have been exported for hundreds of years. In the 14th century, the area traded in unprocessed wool. There were several skilled hand spinners and weavers in the area. By the 1780s, Richard Arkwright had developed machinery to produce textiles faster and to

1309-906: Is subdivided into the Dark Peak , moorland dominated by gritstone , and the White Peak , a limestone area with valleys and gorges. The Dark Peak forms an arc on the north, east and west of the district, and the White Peak covers central and southern areas. The highest point is Kinder Scout (2,087 ft (636 m)). Most of the area is within the Peak District National Park , a protected landscape designated in 1951. A 2021 report states that "the Park’s own population numbers around 40,000 and supports an estimated 18,000 jobs, predominantly through farming, manufacturing and, inevitably, tourism". The area has been inhabited since

1386-700: Is the largest settlement and only town in the national park and the site of the National Park Authority offices. Its five-arched bridge over the River Wye dates from the 13th century. Castleton is the centre of production of a semi-precious mineral, Blue John . Eyam village is known for a self-imposed quarantine during the Black Death . Edale is the southern end of the Pennine Way , a 268-mile national trail which traverses most of

1463-749: Is the most prominent. It rises on Bleaklow just east of Glossop and flows through the Upper Derwent Valley , where it is constrained by the Howden , Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs . The reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley were built from the early to mid-20th century to supply drinking water to the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. The rivers Noe and the Wye are tributaries. The River Manifold and River Dove in

1540-459: The Dark Peak and White Peak , but the wider Peak District is less well defined. The Dark Peak is largely uninhabited moorland and gritstone escarpments in the northern Peak District and its eastern and western margins. It encloses the central and southern White Peak, which is where most settlements, farmland and limestone gorges are found. Three of Natural England 's National Character Areas (NCAs) cover parts of it. The Dark Peak NCA includes

1617-454: The Lonk , thrive on the austere conditions of heather moors. Burning of moorland has been practised for a number of reasons, for example, when grazing is insufficient to control growth. This is recorded in Britain in the fourteenth century. Uncontrolled burning frequently caused (and causes) problems and was forbidden by statute in 1609. With the rise of sheep and grouse management in

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1694-606: The Mesolithic era; it was largely used for agricultural purposes until mining arose in the Middle Ages. During the Industrial Revolution , several cotton mills were constructed in the area's valleys by Richard Arkwright . As mining declined, quarrying grew. Tourism came with the railways, spurred by the landscape, spa towns and Castleton 's show caves. The Peak District forms the southern extremity of

1771-820: The RSPB 's publication of Peak Malpractice , a 2006 report highlighting wildlife crime, the Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative was set up in 2011 by conservationists and shooting bodies to try to boost populations of birds of prey. The park authorities expressed disappointment at the limited results and the RSPB withdrew from the partnership in January 2018 citing continued efforts by the Moorland Association and National Gamekeepers’ Organisation which together had "frustrated any possibility of progress" on

1848-481: The anomalous , broom moth , dot moth , garden dart , mouse moth and white ermine . Other invertebrates include the bilberry bumblebee , broad groove-head spider , mole cricket , northern yellow splinter , shining guest ant , violet oil beetle and white-clawed crayfish . The Peak District National Park was the first national park to be designated in the United Kingdom, on 17 April 1951 (following

1925-488: The coal measures that occur only on the margins and infrequent outcrops of igneous rocks , including lavas , tuffs and volcanic vent agglomerates . The general geological structure is that of a broad dome , whose western margins have been intensely faulted and folded . Uplift and erosion have sliced the top off the Derbyshire Dome to reveal a concentric outcrop pattern with coal-measured rocks on

2002-473: The workhouses of London as apprentices. As technology advanced, narrow valleys proved unsuited to larger steam-driven mills, but Derbyshire mills remained to trade in finishing and niche products. Glossop benefited from the textile industry. Its economy was tied to a spinning and weaving tradition that evolved from developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution . Until

2079-680: The 1940s onwards, but may now be extinct. Red deer herds, assumed to be derived from animals escaped from deer parks at Lyme Park and Chatsworth , are established in the upper reaches of the Goyt valley and on the moors above Baslow , and a herd on Wharncliffe Crags outside the national park north of Sheffield may derive from hunting stock of Wharncliffe Chase. Biodiversity action plans have been prepared for mountain hare, brown hare , brown long-eared bat , dormouse , harvest mouse , hedgehog , noctule bat , otter , pine marten , polecat , soprano pipistrelle and water vole . The status of

2156-536: The First World War, Glossop was the headquarters of the largest textile printworks in the world, but after the Wall Street crash its product lines became vulnerable and the industry declined. Moorland Moorland habitats mostly occur in tropical Africa , northern and western Europe , and South America . Most of the world's moorlands are diverse ecosystems . In the extensive moorlands of

2233-628: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 and a resulting public enquiry to establish its boundary). It was one of ten parks created in the 1950s in the wake of the 1945 Dower Report and 1947 Hobhouse Report, which recommended the creation of national parks in England and Wales. The park has an area of 1,438 square kilometres (555 sq mi) and receives approximately 13 million visitors each year. 90% of

2310-480: The Peak District was once inhabited by an eclectic mix of species, many of them no longer found in Britain, such as alpine swift , demoiselle crane and long-legged buzzard . Species lost from the Peak District through human activity include hazel grouse , capercaillie and golden eagle . Amphibians and reptiles such as common lizards , grass snakes , great crested newts and slow worms are found in

2387-551: The Pennines and ends at Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish border . The park also contains the highest village in the United Kingdom, Flash , at 1,519 feet (463 m). Other villages in the park include Hathersage , Hartington , Ilam and Tideswell . The towns of Glossop , Chapel-en-le-Frith , Buxton , Macclesfield , Leek , Ashbourne, Matlock and Chesterfield are on the national park's fringes. The spa town of Buxton

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2464-517: The Pennines. Much of it is upland above 1,000 feet (300 m), its highest point being Kinder Scout at 2,087 ft (636 m). Despite its name, the landscape has fewer sharp peaks than rounded hills, plateaus , valleys, limestone gorges and gritstone escarpments (the "edges"). The mostly rural area is surrounded by conurbations and large urban areas, including Manchester , Huddersfield , Sheffield , Derby and Stoke-on-Trent . The national park has formal boundaries. It covers most of

2541-918: The South West Peak NCA. The limestone plateaus of the White Peak are more intensively farmed, with mainly dairy usage of improved pastures. Woodland forms some 8 per cent of the Peak National Park. Natural broad-leaved woodland appears in the steep dales of the White Peak and cloughs of the Dark Peak. Reservoir margins often have coniferous plantations. White Peak habitats include calcareous grassland , ash woodlands and rock outcrops for lime-loving species. They include early purple orchid ( Orchis mascula ), dark-red helleborine ( Epipactis atrorubens ) and fly orchid ( Ophrys insectifera ), common rockrose ( Helianthemum nummularium ), spring cinquefoil ( Helianthemum nummularium ) and grass of parnassus ( Parnassia palustris ). Lead rakes,

2618-611: The White Peak fed the Cromford Canal . The Peak Forest Canal brought lime from the quarries at Dove Holes for the construction industry. It terminated at Bugsworth Basin and the journey was completed using the Peak Forest Tramway . The Cromford Canal, from Cromford to the Erewash Canal , served lead mines at Wirksworth and Sir Richard Arkwright 's cotton mills. The Caldon Canal from Froghall

2695-449: The area have been found in several caves. Various rock-types beneath the soil strongly influence the landscape; they determine the type of vegetation and ultimately the type of animal inhabiting the area. Limestone has fissures and is soluble in water, so that rivers could carve deep, narrow valleys. These often find routes underground, creating cave systems. Millstone grit is insoluble but porous , absorbing water that seeps through

2772-405: The area. It was not iced over in the last glacial period , which peaked about 20,000–22,000 years ago. A mix of Irish Sea and Lake District ice abutted its western margins. Glacial meltwaters eroded a complex of sinuous channels along this margin of the district. Glacial meltwaters contributed to the formation and development of many caves in the limestone area. Remains of wild animal herds roaming

2849-551: The brief heat of controlled burning. In terms of managing moorlands for wildlife, in the UK, vegetation characteristics are important for passerine abundance, whilst predator control benefits red grouse, golden plover, and curlew abundances. To benefit multiple species, many management options are required. However, management needs to be carried out in locations that are also suitable for species in terms of physical characteristics such as topography, climate and soil. The development of

2926-399: The coal and dewatered the mines. Coal from the east was used in lead smelting and from the west for lime burning. Lead mining peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries; high concentrations were found in the area from this period, along with peat on Kinder Scout, suggesting that lead smelting occurred. Lead mining declined from the mid-19th century, with the last major mine closing in 1939. Lead

3003-748: The collection, storage and supply of water for the use of the towns in the plains below that I am surprised that they have been overlooked. The western Peak District is drained by the Etherow, the Goyt and the Tame , all tributaries of the River Mersey . The north-east is drained by tributaries of the River Don . Of the tributaries of the River Trent draining south and east, the River Derwent

3080-518: The colony covers about 3 square metres (32 sq ft) of a rock face with small subsidiary colonies nearby. Jacob's-ladder ( Polemonium caeruleum ), a rarish species characteristic of limestone dales in the White Peak, has been Derbyshire's county flower since 2002. It grows on grassland, light woodland, screes and rock ledges, and by streams in Lathkill , Wolfscote, Taddington, Wye Dale and other dales. Pollen evidence from peat bogs shows it

3157-435: The cooler conditions. In Europe, only the common viper is frequent, though in other regions moorlands are commonly home to dozens of reptile species. Amphibians such as frogs are well represented in moorlands. When moorland is overgrazed , woody vegetation is often lost, being replaced by coarse, unpalatable grasses and bracken , with a greatly reduced fauna. Some hill sheep breeds, such as Scottish Blackface and

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3234-549: The district. The eastern moors are a stronghold for adders . Native fish in the Peak District include Atlantic salmon , brown trout , European eel , bullhead , brook lamprey and grayling . A possibly unique population of "wild" rainbow trout survives on the Derbyshire Wye , following their introduction at the turn of the 20th century. Butterflies in the region include the dingy skipper , brown argus , small blue and white-letter hairstreak . Moths include

3311-689: The east are at the western edge of the South Yorkshire Coalfield . Those in the west are part of the Cheshire section of the Lancashire Coalfield . Mining started in medieval times , was at its most productive in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and continued into the early 20th century. The earliest mining took place around outcrops , where miners followed the seams deeper into the hillsides. At Goyt's Moss and Axe Edge , deep seams were worked and steam engines raised

3388-525: The eastern and western margins, carboniferous limestone at the core and rocks of millstone grit between them. The southern edge of the Derbyshire dome is overlain by sandstones of Triassic age, though they barely impinge on the National Park. The White Peak forms a central and southern section with carboniferous limestone found at or near the surface. The Dark Peak to the north, east and west

3465-605: The end of this period, the Earth's crust sank here which led to the area being covered by sea, depositing a variety of new rocks. Some time after its deposition, mineral veins were formed in the limestone. The veins and rakes have been mined for lead since Roman times . The Peak District was iced over in at least one of the ice ages of the last two million years, probably the Anglian glaciation of some 450,000 years ago, as shown by patches of glacial till or boulder clay found across

3542-461: The fifth largest national park in England and Wales. In the UK, designation as a national park means that planning and other functions are provided by a national park authority, with additional restrictions that enhance protection from inappropriate development. Land within this national park as in others is in a mix of public and private ownership. The National Trust , a charity that conserves historic and natural landscapes, owns about 12 per cent of

3619-417: The grits, until it meets the less porous shales beneath, creating springs where it reaches the surface. The shales are friable and easily attacked by frost, forming areas vulnerable to landslides, as on Mam Tor. The gritstone and shale of the Dark Peak supports heather moorland and blanket bog , with rough sheep pasture and grouse shooting as the main land uses, though parts are also farmed, especially

3696-598: The heather moorlands of the Dark Peak, where the red grouse population is maintained by gamekeepers employed by shooting estates. A population of black grouse became extinct in 2000, but reintroduction was attempted in 2003. Quarries and rock outcrops provide nest sites for peregrine falcon and common raven . Ravens and common buzzards are increasingly found as their British range expands eastwards, perhaps because of general reductions in persecution. Illegal persecution has limited populations of rare raptors such as Eurasian goshawk , peregrine and hen harrier . Following

3773-535: The high moors. After decades of decline due to pollution, Sphagnum mosses are returning, with species such as S. cuspidatum particularly dominant. Most Peak District mammals are generalists and widespread across the UK, but the mountain hares on heather moorland in the Dark Peak form the only wild population in England. They were reintroduced in the Victorian era for sporting purposes. A feral population of red-necked wallabies lived around The Roaches from

3850-492: The islands and extreme north of Scotland, are clearly natural, never having had trees, whereas much of the Pennine moorland area was forested in Mesolithic times. How much the deforestation was caused by climatic changes and how much by human activity is uncertain. A variety of distinct habitat types are found in different world regions of moorland. The wildlife and vegetation forms often lead to high endemism because of

3927-435: The issue. Fast-flowing rivers attract specialists such as grey wagtail , dipper , common sandpiper , mandarin duck and goosander . Wooded and semi-wooded areas attract redstart , pied flycatcher , wood warbler and tree pipit , and coniferous plantations house siskin and common crossbill . Upland reservoirs in the Dark Peak are generally oligotrophic and attract few birds, but lower-lying reservoirs on

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4004-458: The land in the national park. Its three estates ( High Peak , White Peak and Longshaw ) include ecologically or geologically significant areas at Bleaklow , Derwent Edge , Hope Woodlands , Kinder Scout , the Manifold valley, Mam Tor , Dovedale , Milldale and Winnats Pass . The park authority owns around 5 per cent; other major landowners include several water companies. Bakewell

4081-456: The local authorities covered by the park. The local authorities and the number of members they appoint are as follows: The Peak has been inhabited from the earliest periods of human activity, as shown by finds of Mesolithic flint artefacts and palaeo-environmental evidence from caves in Dovedale and elsewhere. Signs of Neolithic activity include monumental earthworks or barrows such as

4158-532: The moorland plateaux of the Dark Peak and the high ridges of the White Peak. Many rivers in the Dark Peak and outer fringes were dammed to create reservoirs for supplying drinking water. Streams were dammed to provide headwater for water driven mills ; weirs were built for the same purpose. The reservoirs of the Longdendale Chain were completed in February 1877 to provide compensation water, ensuring

4235-515: The moorlands are a net carbon sink or source, based on the fact that Britain's upland areas contain a major global carbon store in the form of peat . Human interaction in terms of direct erosion and fire, with the effects of global warming, are the main variables they considered. The Peak District is formed almost wholly of sedimentary rocks of the Carboniferous period. They make up the carboniferous limestone overlying gritstone , and

4312-698: The national park is privately owned, with the largest single owner being the National Trust (12%). The national park is governed by the Peak District National Park Authority, which was established under the 1995 Environment Act, replacing the Peak Park Planning Board. The authority has 30 members, 14 appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and 16 appointed by

4389-531: The nineteenth century, it again became common practice. Heather is burnt at about 10 or 12 years old when it will regenerate easily. Left longer, the woodier stems will burn more aggressively and will hinder regrowth. Burning of moorland vegetation needs to be very carefully controlled, as the peat itself can catch fire, and this can be difficult if not impossible to extinguish. In addition, uncontrolled burning of heather can promote alternative bracken and rough grass growth, which ultimately produces poorer grazing. As

4466-563: The northern and eastern parts of the Dark Peak and the White Peak NCA most of the White Peak. The western margins of the Dark Peak are in the South West Peak NCA, where farmland and pastured valleys are found with gritstone edges and moorland. Outside the park, the wider Peak District often includes the area approximately between Disley and Sterndale Moor, encompassing Buxton and the Peak Dale corridor. It may also include some of

4543-582: The one at Margery Hill . The Bronze Age saw the area well populated and farmed. Evidence remains in henges such as Arbor Low near Youlgreave and the Nine Ladies stone circle at Stanton Moor . In the same period and into the Iron Age , hill forts such as Mam Tor's were created. The Romans drew on the area's rich mineral veins, exporting lead from the Buxton area along well-used routes. Buxton

4620-488: The outer fringes and foothills, such as the Churnet and lower Derwent Valleys. The region is mostly surrounded by lowlands with gritstone moorlands of the South Pennines to the north, separated approximately by the Tame Valley , Standedge and Holme Valley . The national park covers 555 square miles (1,440 km ), including most of the region in Derbyshire and extends into Staffordshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and South and West Yorkshire. Its northern limit

4697-591: The pine marten is unclear, though confirmed sightings have occurred in recent decades in Derbyshire and north Staffordshire and a specimen from an introduced Welsh population was found dead outside the national park on a road between Ripley and Belper in 2018. As with mammals, many Peak bird species are widespread generalists. The Dark Peak moors still support breeding populations of several upland specialists, such as twite , short-eared owl , golden plover , dunlin , ring ouzel , northern wheatear and merlin . The populations of twite and golden plover are

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4774-457: The same winter, the A635 (Saddleworth Moor) and A57 (Snake Pass) were closed due to snow for almost a month. Frost cover is seen for 20–30 per cent of the winter on moorland in the Dark Peak and 10 per cent in the White Peak. The Moorland Indicators of Climate Change Initiative was set up in 2008 to collect data in the area. Students investigated the interaction between people and the moorlands and their effect on climate change, to discover whether

4851-487: The setting of various works of late Romantic English literature, ranging from the Yorkshire moorland in Emily Brontë 's Wuthering Heights and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to Dartmoor in Arthur Conan Doyle 's Holmesian mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles . They are also featured in Charlotte Bronte 's Jane Eyre representing the heroine's desolation and loneliness after leaving Mr Rochester . Enid Blyton 's Famous Five series featured

4928-455: The seven arches railway viaduct in Cheadle Hulme . South of Hazel Grove it is used to delineate the boundary between Greater Manchester and Cheshire . The Ladybrook is a tributary of the River Mersey , the confluence being near Cheadle , immediately after flowing under the M60 motorway. 53°24′04″N 2°13′19″W  /  53.4010°N 2.2220°W  / 53.4010; -2.2220 This Greater Manchester location article

5005-450: The severe soil and microclimate characteristics. An example of this is the Exmoor Pony , a rare horse breed which has adapted to the harsh conditions in England's Exmoor . In Europe, the associated fauna consists of bird species such as red grouse , hen harrier , merlin , golden plover , curlew , skylark , meadow pipit , whinchat , ring ouzel , and twite . Other species dominate in moorlands elsewhere. Reptiles are few due to

5082-413: The south-west, whose sources are on Axe Edge Moor , flow into the Trent. The River Dane flows into the River Weaver in Cheshire. There are no canals in the national park, although the Standedge Tunnels on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal run underneath the extreme north of it. Outside the park, waters from the Dark Peak feed the Macclesfield , Ashton , and Huddersfield Narrow Canals and waters from

5159-452: The southern fringes such as Carsington Water and Ogston Reservoir regularly attract rare migrants and wintering rarities such as various waders, wildfowl, gulls and terns. The area is regularly overflown by wintering populations of pink-footed geese moving between East Anglia and Morecambe Bay. Dipper, golden plover, hen harrier, merlin and short-eared owl are local biodiversity action plan priority species. Fossil records show that

5236-503: The southernmost confirmed breeding populations in England, and the Peak District Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) is a European designation for its populations of merlin, golden plover and short-eared owl. The Peak District lacks the concentrations of breeding waders found further north in the Pennines, though the moors and their fringes accommodate breeding curlew and lapwing , and less noticeable wading birds such as dunlin and snipe . Commercial driven grouse shooting occurs on

5313-435: The spoil heaps of ancient mining activity, form another distinctive White Peak habitat, supporting a range of rare metallophyte plants, including spring sandwort ( Minuartia verna ; also known as leadwort), alpine pennycress ( Thlaspi caerulescens ) and mountain pansy ( Viola lutea ). Two endemic vascular plants are found nowhere else in the world: Derby hawkweed ( Hieracium naviense ), found only in Winnats Pass ,

5390-493: The tropics, biodiversity can be extremely high. Moorland also bears a relationship to tundra (where the subsoil is permafrost or permanently frozen soil), appearing as the tundra and the natural tree zone. The boundary between tundra and moorland constantly shifts with climatic change . Heathland and moorland are the most extensive areas of semi-natural vegetation in the British Isles . The eastern British moorlands are similar to heaths but are differentiated by having

5467-473: The true story of some of England's most infamous witch trials. In Erin Hunter 's Warriors series, one of the four Clans, WindClan, lives in the moorland alone. Michael Jecks , author of Knights Templar Mysteries, sets his books in and around Dartmoor , England. Paul Kingsnorth ’s Beast is also set on a western English moor, using the barren landscape and fields of heather to communicate themes of timelessness and distance from civilization. Great Britain

5544-509: The young protagonists adventuring across various moorlands where they confronted criminals or other individuals of interest. Such a setting enhanced the plot as the drama unfolded away from the functioning world where the children could solve their own problems and face greater danger. Moorland in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire is the setting for Walter Bennett's The Pendle Witches ,

5621-579: Was a Roman settlement known as " Aquae Arnemetiae " for its spring. Theories on how the name Peak derived cite the Pecsaetan or peaklanders, an Anglo-Saxon tribe inhabiting the central and northern parts of the area from the 6th century CE, when it belonged to the Anglian kingdom of Mercia . Barrows from the Anglo-Saxon period are present, including Benty Grange , where the eponymous helmet

5698-403: Was built to transport limestone from quarries at Cauldon Low for the iron industry and flints for the pottery industry. Most of the area is over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, in the centre of the country at a latitude of 53°N, bringing relatively high annual rainfall averaging 40.35 inches (1,025 mm) in 1999. The Dark Peak tends to receive more rainfall than the White Peak, as it

5775-758: Was built up by the Dukes of Devonshire as a genteel health resort in the 18th century while the spa at Matlock Bath , in the River Derwent valley, was popularised in Victorian times. Hayfield is at the foot of Kinder Scout, the area's highest summit. Other towns and villages fringing the park include Whaley Bridge , Hadfield , Tintwistle , Darley Dale and Wirksworth in Derbyshire, Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire and Marsden and Holmfirth in West Yorkshire. Several rivers have sources on

5852-400: Was found. In medieval and early modern times, the area was mainly agricultural, with sheep farming, rather than arable the main activity in upland holdings. From the 16th century, the mineral and geological wealth became increasingly significant. Not only lead, but coal, fluorite , copper from Ecton Mines , zinc , iron , manganese and silver have been mined. Celia Fiennes , describing

5929-557: Was widespread throughout Britain just after the last ice age. Much planted in gardens from where it has established itself in other parts of the area, as a native it is restricted to the White Peak and the Yorkshire Dales . The Dark Peak heathlands, bogs, gritstone edges and acid grasslands contain relatively few species; heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum ), bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ) and hare's-tail cotton grass ( Eriophorum vaginatum ) dominate

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