Christmas tree sales raise money to fund conservation work in the Peak District

Festive fundraising

Our rangers and volunteers have been busy this month selling British sustainably grown trees in the lead up to Christmas.


The trees have been on sale at Longshaw near Sheffield, Ilam Park near Ashbourne and in Castleton, and have been extremely popular. 

Ranger Mark Cunningham organises the sales at Ilam Park and has a team of willing volunteers helping to serve customers, wrap the trees in netting and help people load the trees into vehicles.

 "All the money we raise from selling the trees goes back into conservation work in the Peak District, so it's a really worthwhile cause. I enjoy meeting lots of locals who are making it a tradition to choose their tree with the family."

If you fancy volunteering with us next year at our tree sales, please do get in touch!

Hen Harrier Chick Update 12 September

Hen Harrier Chick Update 12 September 2014

We are very saddened by the deaths of three of the hen harrier chicks. All indications are that two of the birds were killed by a natural predator. The body of the third has been recovered and, along with the remains of the other two, has been sent for post-mortem (as is usual practice), but there is no evidence of suspicious activity at this stage. Two chicks are still doing well. This news reinforces the need to have a strong and healthy population of hen harriers in the Peak District and England: one nest is not enough as there will always be natural losses. We will continue to work with our partners to protect the remaining chicks and create an environment where hen harriers can thrive in the future.

Our website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dark-peak/wildlife/

Hen Harriers breed successfully in the Peak District

Five hen harrier chicks have fledged on land we look after in the Upper Derwent Valley - the first time these birds of prey have bred successfully in the Peak District for eight years. 

One of the five hen harrier chicks in the Peak District

Working together for birds of prey
The successful hen harrier breeding is the result of a wide partnership of people and organisations working together to secure the future of birds of prey in the area as part of the Peak District Birds of Prey Initiative. 

‘Having hen harriers breed successfully here in the Peak District is wonderful news and would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of all the people and organisations involved, which has been truly inspiring’ said Jon Stewart, our General Manager for the Peak District.

We’re committed to increasing the number of birds of prey on the land that we care for in the Peak District as part of our High Peak Moors vision. We’re working closely with our tenants and partners, including the grouse shooting community, which has been very supportive of the successful hen harrier breeding.

Discovering the chicks
Our local shooting tenant Geoff Eyre discovered the nest containing five healthy hen harrier chicks in August and alerted the Peak District Birds of Prey Initiative which set up a nest watch team to protect the birds. Two male hen harriers and one female had previously been seen ‘sky dancing’ (an incredible aerobatic mating routine) in late April but were then thought to have left the area.

Jamie Horner - Peak District Bird of Prey Raptor group, Jon Stewart – the National Trust’s General Manager for the Peak District, and Hardyal Dhindsa - Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire.

Alan Charles, Derbyshire’s Police & Crime Commissioner said he wanted to congratulate the Peak District Birds of Prey Initiative for their positive work, which has been instrumental in bringing about this success story.  PCC Charles has introduced strong measures in his Police and Crime Plan to protect wildlife and specifically persecuted birds of prey and is pleased to continue to support this initiative alongside Derbyshire Constabulary.  Deputy Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa visited the site to see the security precautions in place and said he felt privileged to witness this rare sighting of the birds. He added: “The most important thing now is that everything possible is done to protect these chicks.”

How you can help us
Sightings of hen harriers in the Peaks can be reported to the hen harrier hotline (0845 4600121) or by emailing henharriers@rspb.org.uk. Reports should include the date and location of a sighting, with a six-figure grid reference where possible.
Satellite-tagging will also be used to track the birds’ progress through the Hen Harrier Recovery Project led by Natural England. The tagging will help us learn more about the movements and behaviour of one of the Peak District’s most iconic birds.

Take a look inside Ecton Copper Mine Engine House

Free open afternoons to showcase conservation work on historic building

The 1788 engine house built above the 400m deep copper mine

Over the past two years, National Trust volunteers have helped to rescue a special building in the Manifold Valley in the Peak District. With funding from an Environmental Stewardship agreement, major rescue works have taken place to rescue the former engine house and powder house of Ecton Copper Mine.

Volunteer Frank excavating around the engine house

Once owned by the Duke of Devonshire of Chatsworth House, the copper mine employed hundreds of local people and supplied copper for the Royal Navy. The engine house was built in 1788 to house a Boulton and Watt steam engine to raise the copper ore. The smaller stone powder house was built on the hillside a safe distance from the shaft, to store the gunpowder. 

After mining finished in 1890, the engine house became a cattle store for the local farmer, housing nine cows and enough hay to feed them over the winter. The stalls and hayloft have been retained, honouring this part of the building's history.

Now cared for by the National Trust, volunteers have helped with archaeological digs around the engine house, leading guided tours, monitoring wildflowers on the surrounding hillside and repairing drystone walls. 

If you would like to take a look inside, come along to our free open afternoons on Thursday 21st August and Saturday 13th September, 1pm to 4pm. 

To find our more call us on 01335 350503
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/white-peak

News from Ilam Park

New additions at Ilam Park

On your next visit to Ilam Park, you may notice some new features in the Italian Garden.

Garden volunteer Bob planting Octavia Hill geraniums in the Regency style urns

Having seen some wonderful photographs of Ilam Park taken 100 years ago (from Derby Library) the Ilam Park gardener and volunteers have been working hard to bring back a prominent feature.

With money gifted to the Gardens Department of the National Trust, 8 Regency style stone urns were purchased, similar to those seen in the old photographs. The urns have been planted with a geranium named “Octavia Hill” which had been grown to commemorate the Centenary of the death of the founder of the National Trust.

So next time you are sitting in the Italian Garden admiring the view towards Thorpe Cloud and Dovedale, take a look at our new stone urns!

Dovedale Discovery

An exciting discovery has been made at Dovedale!

An excavation in Dovedale unearthed a hoard of Late Iron Age and Republican Roman coins, the first time coins of these two origins are thought to have been found buried together in a cave in Britain.

The discovery at Reynard’s Kitchen Cave is significant because not only is it unusual to find Late Iron Age gold coins, but to unearth them actually within a cave setting adds to the mystery surrounding them.

The initial discovery of four coins was made by a member of the public which led the National Trust to carry out a full excavation of the cave.

“In total we found twenty six coins, including three Roman coins which pre-date the invasion of Britain in AD 43,” explains National Trust archaeologist, Rachael Hall.

Spirit of Kinder comes to Sheffield

Press release from the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Comittee 

The annual Spirit of Kinder event, celebrating Kinder Scout and the 1932 Mass 

Trespass, comes to Sheffield on Saturday, April 26.

The event, which will also celebrate 10 years of the implementation of the CROW Act which gave the Right to Roam in open country, is organised by the Kinder & High Peak Advisory Committee and will be held at Sheffield Town Hall starting at 2.30pm. It is free and open to all.

 Group chairman Terry Howard said: “Sheffield’s vital role in the Mass Trespass and the fight to gain access to our mountains and moorlands is often overlooked. We aim to put that right at this event, and also to highlight to important work that Sheffield City Council and the Sheffield Moors Partnership is doing to encourage access to the moors of Sheffield’s Golden Frame.”

One of the keynote speakers, John Mothersole, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, added: “We should never forget the community spirit that confronted a great sense of injustice.  That spirit does live on in our commitment to, and enjoyment of, the great asset we have both in and close to our city.  This event reminds us of that, but also needs to drive us forward”.

In addition to Mr Mothersole, the other keynote speaker will be the forthright national President of the Ramblers and General Secretary of the Open Spaces Society, Kate Ashbrook. Sheffield’s Walking Champion, Coun. Peter Price of Sheffield City Council, will be master of ceremonies.

Other speakers will include Bill Bevan, the Sheffield-based archaeologist and interpreter, who will describe the prehistory of Kinder Scout, and Annabelle Kennedy of the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, who will outline the work of the Sheffield Moors Partnership.

Young representatives of the Woodcraft Folk will describe the various Sheffield trespasses which took place during the 1930s, including the often-forgotten successful Abbey Brook Trespass on September 18, 1932.

 Among the organisations expected to attend are the Ramblers (National, Sheffield and Manchester); Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland; Peak & Northern Footpaths Society; British Mountaineering Council; the National Trust;  Peak District National Park Authority; Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation; the Sheffield Moors Partnership and Friends of the Peak District (CPRE).

For more details and further information on the Spirit of Kinder Day, contact Roly Smith on 01629 812034 (roly.smith@btconnect.com) or Terry Howard on 0114 266 5438 or (tmhoward@live.co.uk). 

Grindleford-Dore Railway Update

Dear Friend of Longshaw,

As you know Network Rail has proposed development of the Hope Valley line at Grindleford that would directly and indirectly impact on the conservation values and people’s enjoyment of Longshaw.  We along with many others responded to Network Rail’s consultation pointing out the serious concerns their proposals raised. 

I am very pleased to say that Network Rail are now reconsidering the way forward and the proposals for Grindleford have been put on hold.  We understand there will now be a three month pause whilst Network Rail look at other options.  If they can find somewhere that is a better rail solution for a passing loop, has less engineering and environmental impact then it is likely the proposal will move elsewhere.  This would be great news for Longshaw although there may be effects elsewhere from a new proposal that need to be looked at carefully.

Thank you to all those who took the time to look at the proposals and respond to Network Rail.  We will let you know when we hear more. 

National Trust Peak District Estate
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/longshaw