Tag: grouse moor management

  • The Government’s Proposals to Curb Heather Burning

    The Government’s Proposals to Curb Heather Burning

    Gisborough Moor, from across Sleddale, is marked by neat, rectangular patches of scorched heather. These are “swiddens,” the product of controlled burning, a practice designed to create the perfect environment for grouse. The idea is simple: burn the old heather, let fresh shoots grow, and produce an abundance of birds ready to be shot in…

  • Scorched Earth: A Cool Burn on Hasty Bank

    Scorched Earth: A Cool Burn on Hasty Bank

    Ah yes, the wonders of the so-called “cool burn”—a delightful little exercise in setting fire to the heather in supposedly small, controlled patches. The idea, we are told, is to clear out the old heather without charring the peat or moss underneath, thereby avoiding carbon loss and allowing for quick regrowth. The fire, they assure…

  • Sinister Relics at Penrod Spring

    Sinister Relics at Penrod Spring

    Two years ago, during one of my habitual wanderings, I stumbled upon a peculiar structure concealed within a 19th-century walled enclosure at the so-called Penrod Spring. I say “so-called” because there was no trace of water. Buried in its crumbling remains was a sinister wooden contraption, shaped like a ‘T’—reminiscent of some oversized bird perch—adorned…

  • Smoke Signals from Baysdale

    Smoke Signals from Baysdale

    I am always saddened when I see those great plumes of smoke drifting across the skyline. It’s a stark reminder, according to the State of Nature Report 2023, that the UK has earned itself a reputation as “one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth“, with biodiversity taking a significant hit. A good three-quarters of…

  • Hutton Moor — Biodiversity vs. Profit

    Hutton Moor — Biodiversity vs. Profit

    This is Hutton Moor at the northern end of the Percy Cross Rigg track. I see that the self-seeded birch and spruce that have sprouted on the heather moorland have been unceremoniously cut down. The rationale is clear; if left unchecked, the moorland will eventually transform into a birch woodland. However, this does come at…

  • Three Howes — Heritage in flames

    Three Howes — Heritage in flames

    I felt a deep sadness upon coming across this recent burning on a bowl barrow on Gisborough Moor. These bowl barrows are historical landmarks, and government regulations explicitly state that burning “must not 
 damage important monuments”. I suppose those responsible might argue that the burning was a “cool burn”, not reaching the peat underneath.…

  • Ah, the joys of heather burning season

    Ah, the joys of heather burning season

    It’s the delightful season of heather burning, and I found myself on Hasty Bank, the perfect vantage point to witness the breathtaking spectacle of over a dozen smoke columns gracefully dancing across a vast 180° panorama of the North York Moors, stretching from Gisborough Moor to the majestic Black Hambleton. In the photo above, these…

  • All my life I have loved being out and about …

    All my life I have loved being out and about …

    … in the fresh air, in the hills and mountains. Never a day goes by without my daily fix. But the sight of blackened, smelly swiddens saddens me; just as much as the large plumes of smoke that waft across the moors. This melancholy is worsened by an increasing anxiety of the climate emergency and…

  • A beautiful autumn day, clear and sunny, with light winds and a slight nip in the air

    A beautiful autumn day, clear and sunny, with light winds and a slight nip in the air

    I have had a couple of people say to me recently that “controlled” burning of the moors is now illegal. Well, that’s not quite right. According to Defra the new regulations introduced last year “will prevent the burning of any specified vegetation on areas of deep peat (over 40cm depth) on a Site of Special…

  • Ladder traps

    Ladder traps

    I spotted this trap the other day, deep down in the northern horn of Lonsdale. So a battle through the bracken to take a closer look. It’s what is known as a ‘ladder trap’ and consists of a timber-frame covered in chicken-wire mesh with a ‘V’ shaped roof leading to a narrow opening so that…