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PHOTO: TIM MELLING
You may spot a green hairstreak on the bilberry-covered moorlands.
wild wonders to enjoy
Natural encounters can be around every corner in the Peak District, if you just know where to look... Tom Marshall tells you more.
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PHOTO: TOM MARSHALL
From the gentle meanders of the White Peak dales to the tumbling wintry torrents of the upland Dark Peak, there’s one member of riverside royalty that’s easy to spot all year round. Around the size of a starling but dressed to impress with a smart white ‘shirt’ and glossy brown/black head and back, the dipper is constantly living up to its name. Look out for them on streamside boulders or perched low to the water on riverside trees. Alongside their characteristic bobbing movement, they use an extra set of eyelids as ‘goggles’ to allow them to feed deep underwater. A flash of black and white speeding past torpedo-like over the river’s surface may well be a busy dipper travelling across its territory.
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The dipper can be easily spotted all year round with its smart white ‘shirt’. www.peakdistrict.gov.uk
The mountain hare has a unique place in the Peak District.
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Hare today
Although white rabbits are often a figure of fantasy or magic, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve seen one in the Peak District uplands in winter. Rather larger but similar in appearance, the mountain hare has a unique place in the Peak District, its only other UK stronghold outside of the Scottish mountains. Sporting a well-camouflaged brown/grey coat in the summer, it’s during the snow-capped months that the sight of this hare of the high tops is the biggest treat.
PHOTO: TIM MELLING
Bring your goggles
