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35-611: Greenfield Valley is a river valley through Saddleworth Moor in England's Peak District National Park . Historically this area of the South Pennines was part of Yorkshire but since 1974 it has been within the eastern edge of the county of Greater Manchester . The valley and the surrounding Saddleworth Moor are designated as 'Open Access' land for the public, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 . Much of Saddleworth Moor

70-482: A covering of peat . On western moors, the peat layer may be several metres thick. Scottish "muirs" are generally heather moors, but also have extensive covering of grass , cotton-grass , mosses , bracken and under-shrubs such as crowberry , with the wetter moorland having sphagnum moss merging into bog-land . There is uncertainty about how many moors were created by human activity. Oliver Rackham writes that pollen analysis shows that some moorland, such as in

105-477: A relationship to tundra (where the subsoil is permafrost or permanently frozen soil), appearing as the tundra and the natural tree zone. The boundary between tundra and moorland constantly shifts with climatic change . Heathland and moorland are the most extensive areas of semi-natural vegetation in the British Isles . The eastern British moorlands are similar to heaths but are differentiated by having

140-538: A result, burning is now a controversial practice; Rackham calls it "second-best land management". Mechanical cutting of the heather has been used in Europe, but it is important for the material to be removed to avoid smothering regrowth. If heather and other vegetation are left for too long, a large volume of dry and combustible material builds up. This may result in a wildfire burning out a large area, although it has been found that heather seeds germinate better if subject to

175-464: A sensitivity to nature and one's physical surroundings grew with the rise of interest in landscape painting , and particularly the works of artists that favoured wide and deep prospects, and rugged scenery. To the English Romantic imagination, moorlands fitted this image perfectly, enhancing the emotional impact of the story by placing it within a heightened and evocative landscape. Moorland forms

210-499: Is a 9,000 year-old peat landscape of blanket bog . The upper Greenfield Valley is part of the Dark Peak SSSI ( Site of Special Scientific Interest ). The millstone grit moorland is typically covered with grasses, mosses, heather and bilberry and is habitat for mountain hares and moorland birds such as red grouse , lapwing , skylark , curlew , golden plover and meadow pipit . The RSPB operates Dove Stone Nature Reserve in

245-589: Is fed by Holme Clough and Birchen Clough. Greenfield Brook flows into Greenfield Reservoir and then on into Yeoman Hey Reservoir and Dovestone Reservoir . It then flows into Chew Brook which is a tributary of the River Tame , which feeds the River Mersey . The Ashton under Lyne, Stalybridge and Dukinfield Waterworks Joint Committee's reservoir scheme began in the Greenfield Valley in 1870. Yeoman Hey Reservoir

280-892: Is home to an estimated 10–15% of the world's moors. Notable areas of upland moorland in Britain include the Lake District , the Pennines (including the Dark Peak and Forest of Bowland ), Mid Wales , the Southern Uplands of Scotland, the Scottish Highlands , and a few pockets in the West Country . Moorlands are called páramos in Spanish. They are particularly common in Northern Spain and

315-450: The Lonk , thrive on the austere conditions of heather moors. Burning of moorland has been practised for a number of reasons, for example, when grazing is insufficient to control growth. This is recorded in Britain in the fourteenth century. Uncontrolled burning frequently caused (and causes) problems and was forbidden by statute in 1609. With the rise of sheep and grouse management in

350-472: The Dovestone Sailing Club was established the same year. The reservoirs are operated by United Utilities and supply water to the surrounding area including Oldham . Spruce and pine plantations are found in the lower valley and broad-leaved trees have been introduced to provide a more diverse habitat. Industrialist John Platt built Ashway Gap House in 1850 on the south side of the valley. It

385-543: The bodies on the moor. The body of Pauline Reade, their first victim, who had been murdered in July 1963, was recovered on 1 July 1987, a year after the pair admitted the murder. They also admitted murdering Keith Bennett and burying his body on the moors in June 1964. On 30 September 2022 Greater Manchester Police searched for the body of Bennett after receiving information from amateur investigator and author Russell Edwards. On 7 October

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420-548: The brief heat of controlled burning. In terms of managing moorlands for wildlife, in the UK, vegetation characteristics are important for passerine abundance, whilst predator control benefits red grouse, golden plover, and curlew abundances. To benefit multiple species, many management options are required. However, management needs to be carried out in locations that are also suitable for species in terms of physical characteristics such as topography, climate and soil. The development of

455-435: The cooler conditions. In Europe, only the common viper is frequent, though in other regions moorlands are commonly home to dozens of reptile species. Amphibians such as frogs are well represented in moorlands. When moorland is overgrazed , woody vegetation is often lost, being replaced by coarse, unpalatable grasses and bracken , with a greatly reduced fauna. Some hill sheep breeds, such as Scottish Blackface and

490-621: The county boundary with West Yorkshire is known as Wessenden Moor and Wessenden Head Moor. The moor is crossed by the A635 between the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Urban Areas . The A635 is known locally as the Isle of Skye road, taking the name from a former public house at Wessenden Head, Upperthong that was demolished after a fire. The Pennine Way arrives from the Wessenden Valley to

525-539: The islands and extreme north of Scotland, are clearly natural, never having had trees, whereas much of the Pennine moorland area was forested in Mesolithic times. How much the deforestation was caused by climatic changes and how much by human activity is uncertain. A variety of distinct habitat types are found in different world regions of moorland. The wildlife and vegetation forms often lead to high endemism because of

560-584: The military have been brought in. As a peat moor, the fire burns primarily underground before setting different parts of the moor alight, which makes it particularly hard to fight as well as releasing excessive smoke and reaching extremely high temperatures. It was predicted by fire chiefs that it could grow on for another few weeks after the fire first ignited. Jonathan Reynolds said ministers would "need to look seriously at our capacity to deal with these kinds of fires in future, including military capacity we might have lost in recent years". In February 2019, on

595-460: The moor on 24 June 2018, resulting in mass evacuations and damage to a large area. Fifty homes were evacuated and about 150 people have been affected in Carrbrook , near Stalybridge . On 30 June firefighters were still fighting the blaze. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said a "request to the military for extra support" was being prepared "so there is a back-up plan" to support firefighters and

630-460: The moor. Cottongrass is the most dominant feature but sphagnum mosses are scarce. Heather , crowberry , bilberry and the rare cloudberry are also found. The peat formation is 9,000 years old but extensive areas contain bare peat from which the surface has eroded. Dovestone , Yeoman Hey , Greenfield and Chew Reservoirs east of Oldham , are accessed from the A635 road. They supply water to

665-559: The murder of Edward Evans in Hattersley , the bodies of Lesley Ann Downey and John Kilbride were discovered buried on the moors. Kilbride had been murdered on the moors by Brady on 23 November 1963; Downey had been murdered, at the couple's house, on Boxing Day 1964, before being buried on the moor the next day. The police were led to Saddleworth Moor by photographs found among Brady's possessions, and claims by Hindley's brother-in-law that Brady had boasted of committing several murders and burying

700-531: The nineteenth century, it again became common practice. Heather is burnt at about 10 or 12 years old when it will regenerate easily. Left longer, the woodier stems will burn more aggressively and will hinder regrowth. Burning of moorland vegetation needs to be very carefully controlled, as the peat itself can catch fire, and this can be difficult if not impossible to extinguish. In addition, uncontrolled burning of heather can promote alternative bracken and rough grass growth, which ultimately produces poorer grazing. As

735-433: The north and crosses the moor on its ascent to Black Hill on Holme Moss to the south. The high moorland is sparsely inhabited. Scattered farmsteads, built of gritstone , and fields demarcated by dry stone walls are on the lower land and in the valleys where there is some coniferous woodland. The overlying peat is cut by drainage channels or groughs. Much of the area is open access land . Blanket bog covers much of

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770-460: The police announced they had ended their search without finding any sign of human remains. In December 2015, the body of an unknown man was found beneath Rob's Rocks on the track between Chew and Dovestone Reservoirs . He had died of strychnine poisoning . He was identified in January 2017 as David Lytton who had flown from Pakistan two days before his body was found. A wildfire broke out on

805-538: The reservoir is used for recreation. In August 1949, a BEA Douglas DC3 crashed into the hill at Wimberry Stones at the top of the Chew Valley killing 24 passengers and crew and leaving eight survivors. The moor was the burial site of at least four victims of the serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley; consequently, the murders they committed became known as the Moors murders . In October 1965, following their arrest for

840-608: The reservoirs is Greenfield village in the Chew Valley . Saddleworth Moor Saddleworth Moor is a moorland in North West England . Reaching more than 1,312 feet (400 m) above sea level, it is in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park . It is crossed by the A635 road and the Pennine Way passes to its eastern side. The moor takes its name from the parish of Saddleworth to

875-764: The setting of various works of late Romantic English literature, ranging from the Yorkshire moorland in Emily Brontë 's Wuthering Heights and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to Dartmoor in Arthur Conan Doyle 's Holmesian mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles . They are also featured in Charlotte Bronte 's Jane Eyre representing the heroine's desolation and loneliness after leaving Mr Rochester . Enid Blyton 's Famous Five series featured

910-503: The severe soil and microclimate characteristics. An example of this is the Exmoor Pony , a rare horse breed which has adapted to the harsh conditions in England's Exmoor . In Europe, the associated fauna consists of bird species such as red grouse , hen harrier , merlin , golden plover , curlew , skylark , meadow pipit , whinchat , ring ouzel , and twite . Other species dominate in moorlands elsewhere. Reptiles are few due to

945-472: The surrounding area. The valley is surrounded by rocky outcrops and moorland. Spruce and pine plantations are found in the valley and broad-leaved trees have been introduced to provide a more diverse habitat. Yeoman Hey was built in 1880 and Chew Reservoir in 1914, and when built, was the highest reservoir in the British Isles at 1,601 feet (488 m) above sea level. The bed of a tramway , built to aid its construction, remains visible. The area around

980-522: The true story of some of England's most infamous witch trials. In Erin Hunter 's Warriors series, one of the four Clans, WindClan, lives in the moorland alone. Michael Jecks , author of Knights Templar Mysteries, sets his books in and around Dartmoor , England. Paul Kingsnorth ’s Beast is also set on a western English moor, using the barren landscape and fields of heather to communicate themes of timelessness and distance from civilization. Great Britain

1015-484: The valley, which includes old quarry cliffs that are home to peregrine falcons . The Trinnacle is a dramatic large stack of three gritstone pillars at Raven Stones Brow. Since glaciers and ice sheets carved the cliff edge during the last Ice Age , weathering and frost-shattering of the rocks over thousands of years have formed the three-pronged Trinnacle outcrop. There are nearly 200 graded rock climbing routes on Ravenstones Crag. The valley's main stream Greenfield Brook

1050-433: The warmest winter day on record, a blaze, described by witnesses as "apocalyptic" occurred on the moor. Notes Citations Bibliography Moorland Moorland habitats mostly occur in tropical Africa , northern and western Europe , and South America . Most of the world's moorlands are diverse ecosystems . In the extensive moorlands of the tropics, biodiversity can be extremely high. Moorland also bears

1085-708: The west, historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire , although it is on the western side of the Pennines and so has been administrated by Oldham and part of Greater Manchester since 1974. The moor, an elevated plateau with gritstone escarpments or edges and, around its margins, deeply incised v-shaped valleys or cloughs with fast-flowing streams, straddles the metropolitan boroughs of Oldham in Greater Manchester and Kirklees in West Yorkshire . Moorland east of

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1120-499: The young protagonists adventuring across various moorlands where they confronted criminals or other individuals of interest. Such a setting enhanced the plot as the drama unfolded away from the functioning world where the children could solve their own problems and face greater danger. Moorland in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire is the setting for Walter Bennett's The Pendle Witches ,

1155-400: Was completed in 1880 (capacity of 780 million litres and 20m deep). Greenfield Reservoir was built from 1897 to 1902. It is the smallest of the reservoirs (capacity of 464 million litres and 20m deep). Dovestone Reservoir is the largest of the three reservoirs in the valley. It has a capacity of 4887 million litres and is up to 31m deep. The dam is 38m high and 550m long. It was built in 1967 and

1190-402: Was used as a shooting lodge until his brother James (MP for Oldham) was killed in a grouse shooting accident on the moors in 1857. Ashway Cross was erected on the moorland as a memorial to James. The vacant mansion and its estate were bought in 1897 by the waterworks board, which allowed it to be used as a Red Cross hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I . In World War II the house

1225-431: Was used to billet Italian prisoners of war. After the house fell into decline it was demolished in 1981. There are two World War II pillboxes (gun emplacements) on the A635 road opposite Yeoman Hey Reservoir. The pillboxes were built into a rock outcrop in c.1940 as part of defences against a possible invasion. The pair are connected by an underground passage. They are protected Grade II listed buildings. Downstream from

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