Our Wild Peak Project is underway and we have been getting out and about in the Peak District and speaking to a number of landowners who are taking part in this new initiative. 

The Wild Peak is a project that aims to work in close partnership with landowners, local communities and project leaders, to inspire and implement long-term, landscape-scale conservation gains in the Wild Peak region, that are driven by nature-led approaches where wildlife dictates the pace of restoration.

I met up with Peter Freeman, Former club captain, from Cavendish Golf Course who gave me a tour of the land they own. It was fantastic to see the comparison between the neatly cut grass on the course alongside the thriving landscape surrounding the borders.

The club got in contact with us here at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to assess the current wildlife and habitats on their site. We discovered their land is made up of a mosaic of different semi-natural habitats and man-made features including golfing greens, rough, acid grassland and woodlands. The club opened in 1925 and has been subject to a variety of different management regimes.

Much of the woodland on site was included in a woodland creation scheme from 1993, these sections each have a similar species make up and the boundaries of these woodlands create an ecotone of scattered trees and scrub interspersed within acidic grassland, a highly valuable niche. Each have dense sections of distinct canopy, middle and ground layer vegetation, providing varied foraging, breeding and shelter locations for a range of species.

The semi natural woodland is largely made up of the remains of the historic ‘horseshoe woodland’. This habitat has a variety of niches and microhabitats within itself including several ephemeral ponds and wet patches, dense, mature sections with limited ground flora and large amounts of leaf litter and finally, open, mixed woodland of a variety of ages.

“In 1923 the Duke of Devonshire commissioned the creation of a Golf Course, on his own land, to the west of Buxton. The site occupies 55 hectares, but less than half is actually golf course, the remainder being rough land, which has remained largely undisturbed, with little or no use of chemicals, since the 1920s. This has created a mosaic of habitats, acid grassland, mixed woodland, scrub and water, of high value and great diversity for wildlife. The Club is managing the diversity to promote wildlife corridors within the “Wild Peak” area, even more important since the site is only 600 metres from the Goyt Valley area of SSSI.” Peter Freeman, Former club captain, from Cavendish Golf Course

As the woodland sections have a large amount of variety within them, including sections of dense, mature woodland, standing deadwood, scattered trees and dense young scrub, there are many foraging and nesting opportunities present. Most birds observed whilst on site were common woodland and countryside birds that would be expected of this habitat however, several notable birds were seen including bullfinch and willow warbler, two species listed as Amber on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern, of those listed as Red, several house sparrows, starlings, song thrushes and mistle thrushes were seen as well as the presence of a calling cuckoo and a grey wagtail.

It is likely that the site will support a range of grassland butterflies and moths and incidental sightings were recorded of green veined white, brimstone and orange tip butterflies. Several damselflies and a four spotted chaser were recorded around the waterbodies. The floristic diversity and low level of management occurring on the sections of grassland are likely to be responsible for large numbers of invertebrates which in turn, is supporting several higher species including mammals and birds.

Cavendish Golf Course is a great example of rewilding taking place in the Peak District. We will be continuing to work together to support nature's recovery, even in the most unexpected of places. For more information about how you can get involved in the Wild Peak project, follow the link below to our Wild Peak page. 

Wild Peak Project