Can Skiddaw Forest become England’s highest nature reserve?

Most of us are familiar with tropical rainforests and know how important they are for keeping our planet healthy. There are also rare temperate rainforests that grow in the wet and humid conditions of the western, upland fringe of the UK from Devon to North-West Scotland.

Some are even closer to home. Staveley Woodlands Nature Reserve in South Lakeland is one local example, along with Borrowdale Rainforest National Nature Reserve.

Temperate rainforests support an incredible wealth of wildlife, especially rare and unusual mosses, lichen and fungi, as well as being long-term stores of carbon. In Britain, most of them have been lost over hundreds of years, and the remaining fragments now cover less than one per cent of the country.

They have been destroyed by felling for timber and clearance for farming and development. But now Cumbria is set to have a new temperate rainforest in the northern Lake District as part of a UK-wide programme to create new areas of rainforest.

Oak forest (Image: Ben Porter) Thanks to major funding from Aviva, Cumbria Wildlife Trust is hoping to secure a 3,000-acre area of land on the north and eastern flanks of Skiddaw, known as Skiddaw Forest or Back O’Skidda. The charity plans to turn this huge area into England’s highest nature reserve by protecting it, restoring critical habitats and putting back its missing wildlife.

Fellsides and ghylls will become a mosaic of wildlife-rich habitats, including vast areas of restored blanket bog and heathland – alongside the return of some very special but long-lost elements of the Lakeland landscape including montane scrub, flower-rich grassland – and temperate rainforest.

It is expected that just over a fifth of this new nature reserve will develop as a diverse broadleaved temperate rainforest in the form characteristic of the Lake District’s famous upland woods.

Sadly, only fragments of this once extensive rainforest, once an integral part of Lakeland, remain. Just like Herdwick sheep, dry stone walls and gingerbread, they belong here and are a wholly appropriate component in the Lake District’s history, heritage and landscape.

Polypody ferns and moss (Image: Ben Porter) Whilst the collection of tree seeds will start later this year, don’t expect to see the 620-acre rainforest come to maturity in our lifetime. The project is part of a 100-year long vision shared by the Wildlife Trusts and Aviva across the UK to create temperate rainforests by planting and natural regeneration in western parts of the British Isles.

The new woodlands will be totally different from the many modern plantations that can be seen across Cumbria. Inspired by a similar scheme at Carrifran, near Moffat, run by The Borders Forest Trust, there are no plans to put up new fences, no stakes or tree guards apart from unobtrusive temporary protection to keep the voles from nibbling the trees. Some 30-40 native species of shrub and trees will be brought into the woodland, with no place for alien Sitka spruce or conifers.

So what is Skiddaw Forest? It is essentially a vast and remote ‘bowl-shaped’ expanse of fell, grassland, heath and bog, bounded by the Skiddaw ridges and the summits of Skiddaw Man, Great Calva and Little Calva. The ridges and summits offer breath-taking panoramas of the Skiddaw massif and the northern fells.

Once designated as a 12th century Norman hunting ‘forest’, today Skiddaw Forest is recognised as an internationally important place for geology and nature.

Tree lungwort (Image: Ben Porter) However, like much of the Lake District, it reflects the impacts of land-use history – and could be in far better condition for wildlife.

Despite its name, there are very few trees in Skiddaw Forest today, in fact, it is currently an almost treeless landscape. Cumbria Wildlife Trust plans to put back the missing habitats and wildlife that should and could be here by creating an even wilder Skiddaw Forest.

The rugged terrain includes huge areas of peatland, moorland and fellside. Cumbria Wildlife Trust argues that these special wildlife habitats are ecologically valuable but can – and should – be much better if we restore and protect them.

The trust aims to bring back some of the missing species such as water voles, black grouse, native trees and scrub, and upland flower pastures with their associated pollinators.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust CEO Stephen Trotter (Image: Sheenah Alcock) In his walking guide to the Northern Fells, Alfred Wainwright described Skiddaw Forest as: “More suggestive of a Scottish glen than of Lakeland, a place incredibly wild and desolate and bare, its loneliness accentuated by the solitary dwelling of Skiddaw House, yet strongly appealing and, in certain lights, often strangely beautiful.”

As part of its 100-year vision for the site, Stephen Trotter, CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust explains: “We love and respect the character and spirit of the place that Wainwright describes so well and we feel a great responsibility to safeguard the special qualities that is cherished by locals and visitors alike. We don’t want to change the feel and character of this remote area, it’s too special and precious.

“But we do believe it’s possible to put some of the traditional and lost species of characteristic Lakeland wildlife back into Skiddaw Forest sensitively and without damaging the natural beauty and sense of place that people love. In fact, we believe that our plans can and will enhance the natural beauty of Skiddaw Forest – and enrich people’s experience of the place.

“We’re especially excited about restoring 1,000 acres of bog and creating a new broad-leaved temperate rainforest and other habitats. The woodland will cover about 20 per cent of England’s highest nature reserve, and we’ll create it by planting or encouraging over 25 native species, including sessile oak, downy birch, rowan and hazel, all of which will be sourced locally. We’ll do this without fencing or plastic tree tubes.

Pine marten (Image: Mark Hamblin) “In 100 years’ time, the ghylls and some of the slopes will be clothed beautifully in local broadleaf trees, dripping with lichens and mosses.”

Continuing to explain why temperate rainforests are such important habitats for wildlife, Stephen adds: “They’re wet, wonderful places, full of life. The damp conditions are ideal for fungi, lichens, mosses and a variety of other plants. They cloak the trees, rocks and boulders. Some form colourful crusts, others are glossy and jelly-like.

“They can even be home to globally rare species, such as the hazel gloves fungus, which grows only on old hazel trees and looks like a bundle of rubbery orange fingers.

“The rich insect life attracts birds like pied flycatchers and redstarts. Temperate rainforests are also home to a range of mammals like red squirrels and pine martens. We hope to eventually attract all of these species back to Skiddaw Forest.”

Pied flycatcher (Image: Vaughn Matthews) Temperate rainforests are excellent stores of carbon, from their rich soils to the trees and plants growing within them, which lock it up as they grow. With benefits for wildlife and carbon, this special habitat will help tackle the nature and climate crises.

Another priority for Skiddaw Forest is to restore almost 1,000 acres of peatland – one of the largest single areas of upland peatland in the Lake District.

Stephen says much of the peatland is in a degraded state. “The bogs have been drained and cut-over historically, so we’ll reverse the drainage and make the bogs wetter again, encouraging the growth of sphagnum mosses to soak up water and safeguard the peat beneath,” he adds. “The improved peatlands will help rare and declining species, help reduce the risk of flooding and crucially, will lock away millions of tonnes in the carbon, playing a vital part in the fight against the climate emergency.”

Cumbria Wildlife Trust aims to create a wilder Skiddaw Forest that is great for both people and wildlife. Stephen paints a picture of the nature reserve in the future: “Hundreds of acres of heathland habitats will be improved, with juniper and a variety of willow species growing in the harsh conditions of the exposed high-altitude areas, below the summit.

Hazel gloves (Image: Vaughn Matthews) “Cattle and other livestock will roam, hen harriers, kestrels and merlin will be seen hunting for water and bank voles low over the vegetation looking for prey. You’ll hear the call of curlew and black grouse and, who knows, even eagles might be soaring above, while pine martens and red squirrels abound in the forest.”

Thousands of people enjoy Skiddaw Forest every year. It is popular with walkers and fell runners, as several routes such as the Cumbria Way and the Bob Graham Round pass through Skiddaw Forest.

Throughout the creation of the new nature reserve, Cumbria Wildlife Trust is committed to safeguarding the area’s heritage and cultural importance, says Stephen. “Nothing will change for the walkers and runners who enjoy this area. We’ll safeguard, maintain and protect public access, forever.”

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is looking forward to working with hill farmers, commoners, partner organisations and local communities at all stages of the programme, including the independent hostel at Skiddaw House. The land hasn’t been grazed for several years and in due course Stephen says the trust is keen to re-introduce livestock grazing, working closely with local farmers.

Oak sapling and Polytrichum moss (Image: Ben Porter) “We’re also very keen to invite the wider community to get involved and take part. There will be plenty of opportunities for volunteers and community groups to get involved, including collecting and growing tree seeds and later planting saplings.

“It is not every day that you have the chance to buy a mountain. With the public’s help we hope we can secure Skiddaw Forest and deliver a 100-year vision to create a wilder landscape.

“It’s so very exciting to be involved right at the start of this. Hopefully and with lots of hard work, future generations will see Wainwright’s ‘desolate and bare’ landscape transformed into a place of remote and rugged natural beauty where nature thrives and is protected forever.”

Help restore Skiddaw Forest

Cumbria Wildlife Trust has secured 83 per cent of the purchase price of Skiddaw Forest (including Skiddaw summit) thanks to £5m funding from Aviva, and has launched a fundraising campaign to help secure the final £1.25m. Anyone who would like to contribute, to protect and restore the landscape for nature, can do so via cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/donate/skiddaw