Hartington Meadows, Kaite Helps
Fragrant orchid, Hopton Quarry, credit Natural Diversity
Skylark, Amy Lewis
Kestrel, Steve Waterhouse
Location
Hartington Station car park,
OS Map Reference
SK 1493 6094
Know before you go
Entry fee
NoParking information
Hartington Station car park, SK17 0AZ on the Tissington TrailBicycle parking
Yes - Hartington Station car park, SK17 0AZGrazing animals
YesAccess
Because of the dangerous state of its faces, there is no access to the quarry.
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
Summer for orchids, wild flowers and plenty of insectsAbout the reserve
Hartington Meadows is bursting with the colour of wild flowers through the summer.
The grassland is managed as part of a working farm, and is cut for hay in mid-July - this encourages meadow flowers such as hay rattle and meadow vetchling. Different flowers grow on the rock outcrops - among them are clustered bellflower and dropwort.
The rough grassland also provides breeding sites for skylark and ground-nesting birds. Various orchids and other limestone flowers thrive in and around the disused limestone quarry, while its faces provide breeding sites for cliff-nesting birds such as kestrel and jackdaw.
Species
Contact us
Nearby nature reserves
Download our nature reserve leaflets
Play Wild rating
Play Wild other than between April and late June and avoid the quarries.
Play Wild amber