I used to walk those moors and think how barren and harsh the landscape was, but never once did it occur to me that it was not natural forces at play. This article is literally eye opening, and inspirational ... volunteers, good science, EU support and transformational results. Best piece of journalism I have read in years.
This is fascinating. Thank you Moors for the Future for all your hard work, the EU for funding it (how dare they help save our moors, let’s take back control!) and to Dave Bocking for telling us about it.
An excellent piece and an inspiration for this dog walker to get back to the top of Kinder Scout where he hasn't been since the mid eighties...! (it's always GOOD to see GOOD writing in print, wherever that is...)
Great article, and I love that insouciant "You're probably familiar with...". Always make your reader feel brainier than they really are. But is the Peak District so-called because it is hilly? It allegedly takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon tribe that lived there. But then they may have got their name because they lived in a hilly area. A topic for discussion by someone who actually knows...
Thanks Robin, yes, good point, it’s my understanding that the Peak District National Park took its name from ‘The Peak’= Kinder but earlier origins would be interesting to hear.
I first read the tribe-name theory some years ago but can't recall where. Starting from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecsaetan) all roads seem to lead back to Turbutt, G., (1999) A History of Derbyshire, Volume 1, pp. 259–60 (which I haven't read). It seems likely that unless the area was already called "Peak" for some other reason the tribe was named for the hilliness, but it doesn't seem likely that they were named for one particular not-very-peaky hill. I have generally heard "The Peak" used to mean the area, not Kinder (which someone else speculates is an even earlier, pre-Celtic name), but then one often hears what one expects. Then again, see https://www.etymonline.com/word/peak (not necessarily authoritative, wish they'd cited a source) which suggests the name is older than the word's use to mean pointy mountain - but if it comes from "pike" that's earlier - and links its use for the cavern with Puck (I've never heard that before) and his Old English "aers".
What a lovely article- thank you David. Really informative, and it's great to read such good news about the environment. The before and after pictures of Black Hill say so much.
Fascinating stuff. Well written report David, thank you very much. I don't know why a friend had to send me this report though, as I am a Tribune subscriber. I didn't seem to get it via email?
Thanks Judith for the kind words - I’ll ask the staff team if they have any ideas about the missing email. I prefer the free Substack App if you can make use of it.
Kinder Scout cannot be both a plateau and a mountain. While it's inevitable that a plateau area will have a highest point within it, it seems to be stretching it to call that point a 'summit'. No summit, no mountain.....
A very fair point Clive, it’s officially the Kinder Scout plateau, of course, and I’m taking liberties a bit, but it always feels like a mountain to a lowlander like me.
I used to walk those moors and think how barren and harsh the landscape was, but never once did it occur to me that it was not natural forces at play. This article is literally eye opening, and inspirational ... volunteers, good science, EU support and transformational results. Best piece of journalism I have read in years.
Many thanks for the kind words Chris. Glad you enjoyed the piece.
This is fascinating. Thank you Moors for the Future for all your hard work, the EU for funding it (how dare they help save our moors, let’s take back control!) and to Dave Bocking for telling us about it.
Thanks Eileen! Always pleased to help organisations like MFF to let folk know what they’re up to out there in the wilds.
An excellent piece and an inspiration for this dog walker to get back to the top of Kinder Scout where he hasn't been since the mid eighties...! (it's always GOOD to see GOOD writing in print, wherever that is...)
Many thanks Bruce - hope you enjoy your trip up there!
Loved the article on "tHe Good Lion" by Len Doherty. Immediately pre-ordered it- FYI its being republished on 28 May
Great article, and I love that insouciant "You're probably familiar with...". Always make your reader feel brainier than they really are. But is the Peak District so-called because it is hilly? It allegedly takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon tribe that lived there. But then they may have got their name because they lived in a hilly area. A topic for discussion by someone who actually knows...
Thanks Robin, yes, good point, it’s my understanding that the Peak District National Park took its name from ‘The Peak’= Kinder but earlier origins would be interesting to hear.
I first read the tribe-name theory some years ago but can't recall where. Starting from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecsaetan) all roads seem to lead back to Turbutt, G., (1999) A History of Derbyshire, Volume 1, pp. 259–60 (which I haven't read). It seems likely that unless the area was already called "Peak" for some other reason the tribe was named for the hilliness, but it doesn't seem likely that they were named for one particular not-very-peaky hill. I have generally heard "The Peak" used to mean the area, not Kinder (which someone else speculates is an even earlier, pre-Celtic name), but then one often hears what one expects. Then again, see https://www.etymonline.com/word/peak (not necessarily authoritative, wish they'd cited a source) which suggests the name is older than the word's use to mean pointy mountain - but if it comes from "pike" that's earlier - and links its use for the cavern with Puck (I've never heard that before) and his Old English "aers".
What a lovely article- thank you David. Really informative, and it's great to read such good news about the environment. The before and after pictures of Black Hill say so much.
Thanks Celia, glad you liked the piece. There’s still a lot of work to do up there, but the changes made already are remarkable, I think.
Fascinating stuff. Well written report David, thank you very much. I don't know why a friend had to send me this report though, as I am a Tribune subscriber. I didn't seem to get it via email?
Thanks Judith for the kind words - I’ll ask the staff team if they have any ideas about the missing email. I prefer the free Substack App if you can make use of it.
A really beautiful piece of writing, thank you ❤️
Really good to read a ‘good news’ story. It always encourages me to remember there are people working away to improve things. Thank you!
Thanks Jenny, and yes they are working very hard to improve things!
Kinder Scout cannot be both a plateau and a mountain. While it's inevitable that a plateau area will have a highest point within it, it seems to be stretching it to call that point a 'summit'. No summit, no mountain.....
A very fair point Clive, it’s officially the Kinder Scout plateau, of course, and I’m taking liberties a bit, but it always feels like a mountain to a lowlander like me.
I really enjoyed reading this, fascinating!
Thanks Naomi, yes it’s good to see the work that can be done with a bit of will and hard graft!
A most welcome uplifting article. Thank you David.
Thanks Bridget, really glad you enjoyed the piece
Many thanks Laura, that’s really kind of you, glad you liked the piece.