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The South Pennine landscape is one of hills and mills.  The area is full of contrasts, the stark mill towns, the green valleys that contain ancient hamlets (like Wycoller), the deep wooded cloughs and of course the moors.  This landscape has evolved over the last 7 or 8 hundred years from the Norman hunting forests.  During the last 2 hundred years the textile industry has added its own mark on the landscape.

Our wet moors are dominated by a single plant species called cotton grass (also referred to as harestail).  In June the moors are white with its egg-shaped seed heads.  The higher, wetter moors are also home to the cloudberry. Heather is found on the drier sides of the moors and turns the land into a glorious purple during August.   Bilberries are also common on the drier land along with small birch trees.  The only common birds on the cotton grass moors are the meadow pipits and the sky larks.  Grouse are found on the heather moors and in places they are reared for shooting.  Many of our moors bear ‘No dogs allowed’ signs as gamekeepers and landowners do not want the dogs disturbing their grouse.  Another sign that the moors are being used for grouse shooting are the numerous shooting points or grouse butts that can be seen lined up across the moor.

Below the moors are rough grazing lands, these are often dotted with ruined farms; their access roads choked with nettles and rushes.  Skylarks, wheatears, curlews and kestrels are typical of the birds found on this land. Most of the field boundaries are dry stone walls, the few hedges are usually made of hawthorn interspaced with oak and sycamore.  These hedges provide shelter for plants like celandine, violets, foxgloves and red campion.  The hedgerows also provide shelter for finches, tits and hedge sparrows (dunnocks).

Mill Brook - an old mill town Grouse Butterburr Typical Pennine Clough

The fast flowing hill streams do not support many plants; they are however home to the dipper, heron, pied wagtail and grey wagtail.  These all search the streams for insects and small fish.  The damp pastures bordering the streams are home to the marsh marigold, Butterbur, creeping buttercup and measdowsweet.

The steep sided wooded cloughs are our richest source of flora and fauna.  In nearby Healy Dell , Countryside Rangers have identified over 100 species of flowers as well as many more species of trees, grasses, rushes and fungi. During spring one particular plant is very easily identified by smell:- Ransomes or as they are more commonly called wild garlic.  The woodlands support many birds including robins, blackcaps, finches, tits, thrushes and blackbirds.  Treecreepers and nuthatches are shy and usually only seen by the quiet and patient visitors.

Pack horse tracks were made in medieval times and stayed in use until the middle of the nineteenth century.  The pack-horse tracks developed from the ‘green roads’ used by the monasteries to transport their grain and cattle from their farms to distant markets.   The earliest pack-horse trails were the Salt Ways (developed in the thirteenth century).  Salt was very important in medieval times.  During autumn most of the cattle were slaughtered and preserved in salt to feed the farmers throughout the winter.  The salt was brought from Northwich to Manchester and then distributed to wherever it was needed.  Place names like Saterford and Saltergate are present day reminders of the Salt Ways.

An old causey path Typical Pack Horse bridge Steanor Bottom toll house

In the seventeenth century the pack-horse tracks were used to transport limestone from Clitheroe to Calderdale.  The lime was used to neutralise the acid soil found in the Pennine Uplands.  At this time there was also a demand for housing and the lime was needed to make the mortar.  Pack-horse trains were often made up of 20-40 specially bred horses called Galloways or Galls.  The lead horse wore bells to warn people of the approaching train.  Each horse would carry up to 100kg, spilt between two panniers.  Pack-horse tracks were built to last and today there are still numerous tracks to be seen across the moors.  The tracks were made of large heavy stones, called causey stones, sunk into the ground.  Shallow streams were forded and deeper streams were crossed by hump-backed bridges, many of these can still be seen in the area today.

During the seventeenth century Turnpike trusts were set up to oversee the development of roads.  The Trusts had the power to borrow money to finance the new roads.  They also had the power to levy a toll on all road users – people, carts and animals.  Toll gates were erected across the roads and special toll houses were built for the gatekeepers.  These toll houses had windows in all directions, so that nobody could sneak past without paying the toll.