Giant mole pops up in Peak District parkland

Pepperpot the mole has some incredible views of Thorpe Cloud and the Peak District

A giant orange mole has popped up on the otherwise manicured lawns of a National Trust property in the Peak District.

The 4m (13ft) sculpture, called Pepperpot, is in Ilam Park in Staffordshire. It is set amid nearby Thorpe Cloud and the YHA Ilam Hall youth hostel and will be in place until 2 November.

Artist Bruce Asbestos said he had been inspired to create the giant mole when he saw the landscape in the park. "As I was looking at Thorpe Cloud, it reminded me of a giant molehill, and that was the starting point for my latest character, Pepperpot the Mole," he said.

The National Trust said they hoped to connect visitors to the park's historic landscape through the work.

Bruce Asbestos is the artist behind Pepperpot the giant mole

Asbestos from Nottingham is known for exploring themes of community, friendship and connection – and has previously displayed his work at Tate Modern.

"It's exciting for me to come to this very grand and imposing landscape and look at how I might respond to it in a completely different way," he said.

"The first thing I noticed when I arrived at Ilam Park was the iconic view of Thorpe Cloud, the flat-topped hill that you can see in the distance.

He added: "For me it's also about trying to pull out the fun from the space, and I wanted to create something that encapsulated that."

More than 120,000 people currently visit Ilam Park every year, which is situated in a picturesque valley on the Derbyshire and Staffordshire border.

The views of the surrounding countryside have inspired artists for hundreds of years.

The scene was painted onto a Wedgwood plate made for Empress Catherine the Great of Russia in the 1770s, and the site's general manager, Craig Best, said he hoped it would encourage children and adults to explore their creativity in some way.

The Arts Council England funded the "Mole Hole" programme to go with the installation that includes a family adventure trail and children's craft workshops throughout the summer.

As well as Ilam Hall, which is used as a youth hostel, Ilam Park also includes ornate Italian gardens, parkland, a tea room and bookshop, as well as a recently completed 1km loop of accessible pathways around the grounds.