Dark Peak

Strines Moor
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

You can see the northern edge of the Peak District, Britain’s first national park, from just about any high point in Leeds. I see it every day on the way to or from home and it’s been calling me for the last few weeks. So yesterday, I went up onto the moors of the Dark Peak, or the northern half of the Peak District.

The Dark Peak is predominantly acidic peat moorland overlying gritstone, which pokes out to form rocky outcrops. The dominant plant is heather. This is particularly impressive about now, colouring whole hillsides a purplish hue and doing so on a huge scale. Otherwise, the only obvious sign of life is the red grouse, constantly calling ‘go-back, go-back’, with the occasional ‘seep’ of a meadow pipit. On an overcast day like today, with a blustery wind, this is an evocative place.

After doing some sketching, I drove down into the wooded valleys and ate my dinner at Fairholmes, overlooking Ladybower reservoir. With tits on the birdfeeders, nuthatches calling in the trees, tame ducks taking crusts and walkers and cyclists setting off/coming back, it was pleasantly busy (and warm) by comparison with the moor tops.

(I even made it home in time to see Shane Warne take his 600th test wicket.)