Wildlife trust seeks help to buy mountain

Cumbria Wildlife Trust believes restoring the landscape on Skiddaw could bring back common species

A wildlife trust has announced plans to purchase 3,000 acres of mountain slopes to create a nature reserve.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is appealing for £1.25m in donations from the public to complete the £6m purchase of mountain slopes known as Skiddaw Forest.

It is part of a scheme to bring back what is known as Atlantic Rainforest, a mixture of native woodland and peat-rich soils which trap carbon.

Chief executive Steve Trotter said: “It’s not every day you get the chance to buy a mountain."

Speaking about the need for protecting the landscape, he said: “We have to reverse the widely reported decline of nature in National Parks to help address the impacts of the climate emergency and the wider wildlife crisis.

"It’s a unique and exciting opportunity to put more wildlife back into a spectacular part of the Cumbrian landscape, so we're asking the public to give what they can to secure the site."

Steve Trotter says restoring peatbog could help ease the risk of flooding

A key part of the plan is to create nearly 1,000 acres of peatbog.

Water from the slopes around Skiddaw runs into the River Caldew, which in the past has contributed to flooding in communities along the waterway towards Carlisle.

It is hoped storing water further upstream in peatbog will help reduce the likelihood of flooding in the future.

A key part of the plans is to create nearly 1,000 acres of peatbog.

Over time, it is believed restoring the landscape on Skiddaw will bring back once common species such as black grouse and help establish merlin, a threatened bird of prey.

The bid to buy Skiddaw Forest has been backed by mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington.