Plant-hunting on poisoned soil

Once in Matlock (see below) I 'did' the charity shops and fortified myself with tea and sticky bun. Then off up and over the hills in search of fields full of industrial waste. It's ironic that the most popular National Park is covered with the remains of quarrying and mining - in this case lead. (And something other than ironic that quarrying continues to threaten areas just outside the park).

Looking back down into Matlock. An excuse to rest my knees.


An enticingly cool pathway and a typical Derbyshire stone squeeze-stile - mustn't eat too many sticky buns!

The view from a stone step stile, north towards the Derwent Valley and the Edges.


Bonsall market cross. There is a small carved face at the intersection of the arms of the cross. Bonsall is a small village strung out along the valley, and used to house mine-workers. It's got a well, but no water was running. Just as well that I'd found the Evian well in the Matlock Co-op...

The fields above Bonsall are pocked with craters like this, with lush grass in the centre, and one side with few plants, just a dusting of white.

These are the white flowers - the Spring Sandwort or Minuarta verna. This is one of my favourite plants, and it's only found where the soil is so polluted with lead that it's the only thing that will grow. It (I think I remember rightly) packages up the lead in its cells so that it doesn't harm it.

This was another charatcteristic plant - Wild pansy, Viola tricolour. This is it's rarer yellow form. Other plants were Wild Thyme, Kidney Vetch, Tormentil, and Common Milkwort (in mauve and blue) all making a gorgeous rock garden.

Plus several billion Buttercups. Glorious!