Yorkshire Dales: Rare carnivorous plant reappears in peat bog

Sundew has been found growing on Fleet Moss, alongside other rare plants

A rare fly-catching plant has reappeared on a peat bog in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Sundew has been found growing on Fleet Moss, alongside other rare plants, park officials said.

It comes after a four-year project to restore the area, which had previously been described as "black broken land".

Peat restoration officer Jenny Sharman, who led the work on Fleet Moss, said the plant's return "was a cause for celebration".

"Sundew is one of a number of really unique species that can only survive in these waterlogged habitats. It's carnivorous. If you look closely at it, there are lots of sticky droplets on the end of the leaves to trap insects," she said.

"It's a fabulous little plant."

The restoration project involved work to trap water and sediment in the bog.

"All of the sediment that would have been tearing off down the hills with the water is no longer doing that. We're actually keeping the peat up here," Ms Sharman said.

Hundreds of timber, stone or coir log dams have been placed across the erosion channels to trap water and sediment

Dragonflies and many species of birds needed the peatlands in order to breed, she said,

"They really depend on this habitat to survive."

Fleet Moss is a large moorland area south of Hawes, known for being home to the highest road in Yorkshire.

The story of its recovery features in the latest episode of the Dales Countryside Museum's Voices From The Dales podcast.