Odds & Sods 2021

Lovely photos Bob. I'm guess (most probably wrongly) with fields and boundaries in view, you might be around the Chatsworth Estate area.

Close call :) The Eastern moors and down to Longshaw.

One of the local valley owls this morning guarding a fishing pond.

Unknown said:

Close call :) The Eastern moors and down to Longshaw.

Nearly there LOL

The Eastern Moors is a lovely area, and lots of interesting stuff historically as well as naturally around there.

There is at least half a dozen small stone circles, and Barbrook Reservoir is a failed reservoir, it kept silting up, so the dam was breached to stop it causing flooding issues. A lot of the surrounding area is still very waterlogged.

A bit of useless info, Swines Sty on Big Moor/White Edge Moor, isn't directly to do with pigs, it was actually a prehistoric settlement.

Yes, I go up on to Big Moor a lot and over the road to Blackamoor and Totley moor. Used to pass Barbrook as nippers in the late 60's and early 70's when it was a reservoir but I think now the water is fed underground to Chesterfield (I may be wrong).

Obviously interested in the big deer who I think are over towards Longshaw and Fox House at the moment which is why I went. Saw Bruce in April but only was told it was him last week because of the tell tail ear notch, he was just starting to grow the antlers back then.

Then you have Shillito which a lot of people go to for the long eared owls, adders etc... but I think there was a lot of issues up there last year with photographers which caused problems for the wildlife. Not been there myself but so many paths aroung the Moors it never gets boring. As you say a lot of stone circles which I need to look up the history of.

Unknown said:

Yes, I go up on to Big Moor a lot and over the road to Blackamoor and Totley moor. Used to pass Barbrook as nippers in the late 60's and early 70's when it was a reservoir but I think now the water is fed underground to Chesterfield (I may be wrong).

Obviously interested in the big deer who I think are over towards Longshaw and Fox House at the moment which is why I went. Saw Bruce in April but only was told it was him last week because of the tell tail ear notch, he was just starting to grow the antlers back then.

Then you have Shillito which a lot of people go to for the long eared owls, adders etc... but I think there was a lot of issues up there last year with photographers which caused problems for the wildlife. Not been there myself but so many paths aroung the Moors it never gets boring. As you say a lot of stone circles which I need to look up the history of.

Unfortunately, the report commissioned regarding the decommissioning of Barbrook is no longer online (something I need to address). The quote in green below is part of it I used in an old blog:

“Barbrook Reservoir, Eastern Peak District Moors (19.05 ha) – disused for water supply for many years, for reservoir safety legislation compliance, it became necessary to drain and formally ‘discontinue’ the structure to ensure that it could no longer retain significant volumes of water. English Nature consented to the decommissioning process and agreed on the level of environmental mitigation required, in particular the establishment of new habitats that reflected and complemented those on the surrounding moors. These included wet and dry heath, wetland and open water and the re-establishment of the original streams. The work was completed in August 2003. Penny Anderson Associates were our key consultants and will be monitoring and managing the vegetation to ensure the establishment of the habitats”

I think the same as you, it was piped underground, though I'm not sure of the source. Ladybower, Derwent & Howden were built for Sheffield, so whether that was shared with Chesterfield, I'm not sure.

I'll never forget the first time I was at White Edge Trig Point, and the mass of deer seen as I looked over towards Sheffield.

I'm intending making a return visit to the Eastern Moors, carefully planning a route that will encompass the eastern edges without too greater distance from accessible parking, plus, Barbrook Reservoir, but on an alternative visit, my walking distances are not what they used to be post accident.

Swines Sty and White Edge trig will only be happy memories for me.

I did last summer make a trip to Stoke Flats Stone Circle and just to the northern edge of Froggatt Edge, but my leg (thanks to secondary lymphedema) swelled considerably making the drive home a bit uncomfortable.

Something I've never seen before on trailcam ... my hoggie out just before dark last night showing her true colours!

I strongly suspect that she has fairly new young in the house & can only assume that she must have been very hungry, she didn't stay out long!

A clip from an hour later shows how I usually see her

It was below Froggatt and Curbar edge in the woods that I came across the big stag last year, just towards the end of rutting. I heard a bellow in the woods and followed the path (obviously carefully) and it all went quiet. Then 10 minutes later as I walked on and still quiet he let out an almight bellow right below me in amongst the trees, probably 20 yards away or less. Scared the life out of me. A moment I'll remember, he's such an incredible animal and I think quite famous in the local area.

I don't mind White Edge but it does seem to go on forever, I prefer Curbar and Froggatt or going up on to Big Moor itself. Baslow is nice for the highlands (which have a bit of a sad story) and all three of those edges have fantastic views. I think White Edge, apart from deer watching, really just overlooks fields which is why possibly it feels like it goes on a bit.