CLIMBERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS TEAM-UP TO IMPROVE POPULAR CLIMBING SITE

Climbers and conservationists are joining forces on Saturday 9th February to give a much needed makeover to Horseshoe Quarry in Stoney Middleton Dale near Eyam, one of the Peak District most used climbing sites and volunteers are urged to come along to lend a hand.

In a unique collaboration between Friends of the Peak District, the British Mountaineering Council and the Peak District National Park Authority Ranger Service, conservation volunteers will be clearing scrub to ensure that vital habitats for smaller plant and flower species do not become overgrown.

Horseshoe Quarry, is extremely popular with climbers from across the region but it is down to volunteers to maintain it, explains Henry Folkard from the BMC. The BMC is committed to conserving and enhancing the fabulous wildlife interest at the site and has already created a new newt pond. We are hoping to encourage people who get so much enjoyment from this valuable landscape to put something back into conserving it.

Andy Tickle of the National Park Society Friends of the Peak District added, Horseshoe is a model site that illustrates very well how a former quarry has now become a fantastic recreational asset and shows that climbing and wildlife really can co-exist.

Volunteers interested in getting involved can simply turn-up at the quarry on Saturday 9 February at 10am to lend a hand. No previous experience is necessary and everyone is welcome.

For further details contact Lindsay at Friends of the Peak District on tel: 0114 266 5822.