Hope Woodlands > Bleaklow Summit

Bleaklow known as the ‘Wastes’ to medieval map makers is a massive expanse of wild, remote, windswept moorland. A first impression would give the appearance of a waste land but a closer look will reveal some of the hidden secrets and show how we and our ancestors have affected this vast landscape.

The blanket of peat supports specialised plant species, plants such as hares tail and common cotton grasses, bilberry, crowberry, bell heather, cloudberry, crossleaved heath, heather and the rare bog rosemary which have all evolved to live in these harsh conditions. Bleaklow is also important to moorland birds species which live and breed here. Birds such as golden plover, dunlin and curlew rely on the moorland habitat to rear their young in early summer. The red grouse with its distinctive ‘go back, go back’ cackling call is a year round resident of the high moor.

The history information below is for the whole area of Hope Woodlands.

The Woodlands in the title may refer to the blanket of trees that covered the area in the Mesolithic period (10000 – 4000 BC). Old tree stumps of birch and other varieties have been found in the peat - the compressed vegetation moistened by water that gives the moors a ‘springy’ feel.
It also has the title ‘Hope Forest’ on the ordnance survey map, relating to it being a royal hunting forest, although such a description in the Middle Ages signified an area not necessarily totally covered with trees.

Discover more about the Peaks past from prehistory to the modern day with our history timeline..

The habitat information below is for the whole area of Hope Woodlands.

Hope Woodlands is considered to be of European importance both for the habitat itself and for the birds that live there. The most important feature of this area is the peat itself – in places up to 3 metres deep – which has recently taken on added significance because of the huge amount of carbon stored within it.

Sphagnum moss played a critical role in the formation of peat over the last 10,000 years. You will still find occasional patches of this moss, even though much of it has been killed off by atmospheric pollution. Sphagnum – in common with many of the plants growing in peatlands – obtains its nutrients from the atmosphere, making it especially vulnerable to pollution. When on the moors look out for the sundew which obtains its nutrients through a different strategy - insects become trapped on its sticky leaves, and are then consumed by the plant.

Explore these habitats and learn more about the wildlife that inhabit them by selecting the links below:
Moorland   Oak Woodland   

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