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.
The Normans arrived in AD1086 at the settlement of Pechesers (literally translated as Peak’s Arse or Peak’s Tail), now known as Castleton. There, William Peveril, son of William the Conqueror, built Peveril Castle above Cave Dale as a stronghold and means of increasing his power and control over the area, while also serving as a prison for offenders. The site of the castle gave the Normans control of the Peak Forest, which stretched from the Derwent Valley in the northeast to the Goyt Valley in the west, including a large area of what is now the Dark Peak.
The enclosures
The 13th century witnessed the first major change to the landscape in the form of enclosures. Enclosure removed land from the community and placed it in the hands of the Lords and those who controlled areas of population. The primary reason for enclosure was profit from improved agricultural activities. The people who tended to lose out were the labourers and landless who were forced off the land and often into the towns. The first areas of land to be enclosed were those close to settlements and these can be easily identified as long narrow fields with straight boundaries. The next enclosures were more regular, rectangular shapes further up the valley slopes. The final enclosures occurred much later in the 19th century with the high moorlands being enclosed for sheep farming. Again, these are easily identified by very long stone walls that seem to stretch forever and lead nowhere useful!
The Industrial Revolution
Industry within the Dark Peak has been centred on the main areas of habitation. The very nature of the land and its geology precluded most mining activities, with the exception of small-scale coal mining on the western fringes and in the Longdendale Valley. It was not until the 17th century that industrial activity on a large scale became common. The availability of water powerful enough to work textile mills lead to the area becoming an important producer of cotton and woollen cloth, especially over on the western edge, which was bounded by the great industrial base of Lancashire. The position of the Dark Peak in the middle of the country and the plentiful supply of gritstone resulted in the export of stone wheels for milling flour and other crushing processes. Gritstone proved itself to be a good milling material but an even better source of building material, making it very attractive to the growing cities that surrounded the Dark Peak.
The ballooning population of the cities also led to an increased demand for water. The answer was the huge reservoirs; for a time the longest single chain in the world was in Longdendale (Walk 18). The reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley were completed in the 20th century and supplied much of the Midlands and Sheffield. As industry’s reliance on water power diminished, the rivers returned to being habitats for wildlife. The water companies are now major landholders, owning much of the land around the reservoirs. Originally the land was bought to safeguard the quality of the water; now it is seen as a major recreational asset.
Derwent Reservoir in the autumn (Walk 12)
The rise of national parks
The 19th and 20th centuries brought about big changes to the uplands and moors. Enclosures had taken what was once common land from the people and placed it into the hands of wealthy individuals. Originally it had been for sheep grazing, enabling large herds to be grazed at little cost. The introduction of red grouse for sport shooting shifted the economic balance: sheep did not bring in the same amount of income per hectare as red grouse, so the sheep and sheep farmers were removed and replaced with the grouse and gamekeeper. Enclosure also restricted access onto the moors and the introduction of shooting moors curtailed access for the vast majority of people. At a time when working classes were gaining a better standard of living, enabling them to travel and explore the countryside, they were prevented from doing so by private landowners. In conjunction, the political landscape was changing and a more socially inclusive attitude was developing. The fact that the high moors of the Dark Peak were closed to public access particularly annoyed and irritated the walkers of Manchester and Sheffield and it brought about a series of trespasses.
The most famous of these was the Mass Trespass of 1932 (Walk 22), when hundreds of walkers walked up onto Kinder Scout against the wishes of the Duke of Devonshire and the instructions of the police. As a result of that day six people were tried and five were convicted of trespass and imprisoned. After the war various reports were produced on social matters. Arthur Hobhouse, a Liberal politician, produced a report in 1947 proposing the establishment of a series of national parks and detailing their uses. This resulted in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, establishing 12 national parks across the country. They were chosen because of their outstanding natural beauty and unique identity. The first to open was the Peak National Park, now Peak District National Park, on 17April 1951.
You may think mass trespasses are long in the past, but that is not the case. The last mass trespass to take place in the Dark Peak took place in 1985 on Bamford Moor (Walk 8), as this was closed to the public unless they had the permission of the landowner. Today that is not the case. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act of 2000 finally gave walkers the right to walk unfettered on open access land. There is, of course, a fly in the ointment. Landowners have the right to close their land to the public by giving special notice for a limited number of days per year. If you are walking on the moors it is always worth checking to see whether there are any closures. It may well be due to sport shooting.
AIRCRAFT CRASH SITES
The Dark Peak has an unusual and sad side. There are a large number of aircraft crash sites upon the
