Dark Peak Walks. Paul Besley

at the forefront of the national parks campaign.

      Industry has made its mark, first with the peat cutting and then more visibly along the gritstone edges and the quarries producing the famous millstones and the stone for the great dams. War also has played its part, with at least three areas taking part in military training, the most famous being the Dambusters of the Upper Derwent Valley. In the last century the area has been the resting place of many aircraft, the remains of which can still be seen.

      The Dark Peak presents a different experience with each season. Autumn invites you to savour the blazing colours of the ancient woodlands around Longshaw, and the smell of the landscape readying for the winter slumber. Then take a winter’s walk on Higger Tor, the wind driving snow horizontally across the moor, the cold biting the cheeks: perhaps you will be lucky enough to experience the thrill of sighting a mountain hare in its white winter cloak. In spring the path up to Grindle Barn from Ladybower has a beautiful meadow full of cornflowers and buttercups. And finally summer beckons, promising long days exploring the groughs of the Kinder Scout plateau, lunch at Crowden Head, reclining on soft sweet-smelling grass, and bathing in the Fairie Pools at Slippery Stones after a hard day’s walking. There are ample opportunities for challenge and character-building, testing navigational skill and self-reliance, and endless moments of pleasure discovering this rich and varied landscape.

      I hope you enjoy the walks in this book and that it leads to further exploration of the Dark Peak and some wonderful memories.

Geology

      The Peak District is formed mainly of gritstone, which sits above a limestone bed. In the southern part of the Peak District, the White Peak, the gritstone has eroded away leaving the white limestone formed some 360 million years ago now visible on the surface. In the north and on the eastern and western fringes, the gritstone remains in place on the surface giving us the Dark Peak.

      The gritstone of the Dark Peak was formed in the Carboniferous Period around 360–300 million years ago at a time of fluctuating sea levels due to ice melt. The gritstone of the Dark Peak, primarily made from sandstone and grit, was laid down when the area was a huge river delta that poured sediment from the north over the smooth limestone rock, resulting in the formation of gritstone rock, often in layers or strata. Between the layers can be found thin seams of shale and coal, formed from decaying plant material during periods of warmer weather.

      Gritstone has a coarse surface that is harder than the limestone or shales upon which it sits. Layering of the gritstone deposits has produced horizontal banding while weathering has produced vertical fissures. This gives a distinctive look of long edges running in straight lines, with the edge interspersed with buttresses of horizontal layers separated by vertical cracks, as seen at Stanage Edge. Where harder sandstone deposits are present, erosion has resulted in gritstone tors where the surrounding softer stone has been weathered away. This is seen most clearly on Derwent Edge and Kinder Scout.

      The Wheel Stones or Coach and Horses (Walk 12)

      The shale formed from mud that lies deeper than the sandstone and grit can be found interspersed within a line of gritstone, the most easily visible being at Mam Tor, where gritstone sits above the shale at the base of the mountain. As shale breaks up easily this makes it a very unstable material and, as in Mam Tor, can produce significant landslips. Thin seams of coal are seldom visible but these remains of plant material laid down during warmer spells of the Carboniferous Period can be seen around Derbyshire Bridge and also in the Longdendale Valley.

      Peat, formed from plant material some 10,000 years ago, sits behind the gritstone edges and on the slopes down into the valley at a depth of up to four metres. On the high moorlands the peat has been eroded, producing deep incisions called groughs where it has been eroded down to the underlying bedrock. This came about partially through natural processes but also through deliberate human activity. In the 19th and 20th century drains were cut into the peat in an attempt to make the moors drier for agricultural purposes. The effect of such drainage was to reduce the moors’ ability to hold water and also to take sediment from the moor down into the valleys. New peat could not be generated from rotting material, further reducing the moors’ water-retention abilities and affecting the delicate natural balance of plant and wildlife where drainage had occurred. Along with the peat, the Dark Peak is one of the world’s most important sites for blanket bog. Blanket bog enables the growth of plants such as sphagnum moss, a key plant for the production of new peat. The Moors For The Future Project seeks to reverse the damage caused by moorland peat erosion and promotes the development of new peat by the seeding of grasses, sphagnum moss and other plantlife that will increase the moors’ capacity to produce new peat material. The peat is also a major component of flood defences for the surrounding cities, the moor holding water for longer periods to allow floodwater to disperse without damaging settlements downstream.

      Groughs should not be confused with cloughs, which are deeply incised valleys running down the hillside from the plateau above. They invariably have a stream running along the length that is cutting deeper into the hillside; many have waterfalls.

Plants and wildlife

      Plant and wildlife within the Dark Peak is diverse. The high moorlands have a wide range of grasses and sedges, bilberry and crowberry and cottongrass, as well as managed bracken and heather. There is little tree cover except for the occasional rowan and conifer. The mountain hare is a common sight, as are grouse, which are heavily managed for sport shooting. Deer are also present on the Eastern Moors. Around the gritstone edges merlins, peregrine falcons, goshawks, hen harriers and buzzards may be spotted. Curlew, golden plover and dippers frequent the moors and valleys, while the common lizard and the adder may be found basking on moorland paths.

      Cottongrass blowing in the soft breeze

      Grouse moors have a cover of heather, managed to produce differing habitats suitable for the life-cycle of the red grouse. Three main types of heather can be found in the Dark Peak; the most ubiquitous is common heather that produces the purple blankets of late summer that the Dark Peak is famous for.

      Ancient woodlands of oak, birch, rowan, holly and hazel can be found on the valley slopes and in the valley bottoms. Bluebells, wood anemone and wood sorrel are abundant, as is the pungent wild garlic along the bottom of the valley. Many of the valley sides were planted with conifer as a commercial crop. Where it is practical these are now being replaced with natural woodlands. The National Trust has also started a programme to introduce natural woodlands onto the steep slopes immediately below the high moors.

      Farming is an important activity in the Dark Peak and farms cover the high moorlands as well as the lower slopes and valley bottoms. Sheep are the most common farm animal but there are cattle as well. Farmland is characterised by a drystone wall of medium size enclosing green pasture. In recent years Highland cattle have been used to control bracken, particularly on the Eastern Moors.

History

      Ancient history

      The area has long been inhabited by man and there is a great deal of evidence to be found on all the walks. Man’s first appearance was during the Neolithic period, some 10,000 years ago, evidenced by burial mounds, particularly on high viewpoints such as Pike Low, built around 2500BC. Bronze Age burial chambers and cairns are also common. A good place to view these is Bamford Moor (Walk 8) or the Eastern Moors (Walk 3).

      A fine example of a stone circle on Bamford Moor (Walk 8)

      The Romans and Normans

      Roman occupation has left its imprint on the landscape as well, with several of the walks using Roman roads, and of course, there were the forts at Hope (Walk 39) and Glossop (Walk 20). The Peak District was of interest to the Romans due to its central location within the country and the lead deposits that would provide a good source of the mineral for lead work in piping and guttering.

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