Famous Walk in Peak District Sees Historic Landscape Recovery

Kinder Scout, a National Nature Reserve (NNR) at the highest point in the Peak District, is now 26% larger after Natural England added an extra 226 hectares (558 acres) to its boundary.

The site, now the equivalent size of 1,000 international rugby pitches, covers the highest point in the Peak District, 636m (2,087ft).

When the trust started caring for Kinder Scout in 1982, the mountain was a barren moonscape of bare peat, degraded by human activity over the centuries due to pollution, historical land management practices, high visitor numbers and climate change. Today the nature reserve is being transformed into a plateau of healthy peat bogs rich in vegetation, providing habitats for mountain hares and upland birds.

Covering the bare peat with rich moorland vegetation and adding means to keep the moors wetter has reduced the erosion of peat by 98% within 18 months, according to monitoring data.

The restoration has also increased the amount of carbon dioxide stored in the peat and improved water quality as it filters through the vegetation before reaching streams and reservoirs, claim the National Trust.