The Reforestation of Skiddaw

Skiddaw, pronounced SKidder by locals, is the high point of a small mountain range in Cumbria in the English Lake District National Park. If you look south from its summit you get  views down beautiful Borrowdale. To the north the distant hills of Scotland may be visible on a clear day, but looking north east hikers will espy a stretch of heathery moorland, which is trodden by none but avid walkers. This is part of Skiddaw Forest. I have  hiked the mountain, though I prefer the Jenkins' Hill route. One time I and my younger brother were near the top of Jenkins' Hill when a lightning bolt struck the mountain a hundred yards ahead. We made a dash down hill to escape the impending storm, a wise choice, for that was the first flash of a storm.

The mountain has a history of being farmed, but other than sheep farming, which successfully tended Herdwick sheep, a local breed well-adapted to the Cumbrian conditions, there was limited success. During the infamous corn law period of 1815 to the late 1840s when the price of corn soared there was a failed attempt to grow wheat on the mountain. But it was territory which was  suitable for sheep and trees. But the native woodland had been seriously thinned out by tree felling to meet the demands of the British navy for warships upto the late nineteenth century. It was this demand for oak timber that caused the sessile oak, an oak variety native to the  north west of Britain to become scarce, though there are efforts to bring it back. 

While sheep farming never went away the trees need a planting plan. We also need hydrological planning, as Cumbria has been subject to serious floods that arise as a result of hurricanes crossing the Atlantic and depositing much of their load of water on the  Cumbrian fells. Fell is the local dialect for hill. It is a Norse word deriving from the Scandinavian settlers who came to the area in the late first millenium. But to deviate slightly the name Cumbria is derived from Old Welsh and is related to Cambria, the name for Wales. It derives from  the time when Wales stretched along the west of Britain from Cornwall to Southern Scotland.

Britain in general is short of trees, and it is also prone to flooding. Keswick, a tourist magnet. situated between Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite, two lakes separated by an isthmus, can suffer floods. But to ameliorate the situation we need water to come off the mountains more slowly than it does. The answer is to use the moorlands nigh to the summit of skiddaw as a sponge whose peat would deepen and thus soak could up rain water. The present bare summit just drains off storm water with no impediment, and that water could hit the town below. So peat is being encouraged to thicken on the moors. Using the moorlands of the Skiddaw masif to delay the release is in keeping with water control measures being applied across the Lake District.

The present nature reserve is surrounding the summit, but the summit region is a stony near -dłesert, and some of the slopes are covered in loose slate, not ideal for growing anything. Where possible, the moisture whose exit from the mountain  will be encouraged to linger and this can be the beginnings of soil development, as moisture will facilitate soil development. The addition of compost and leaf mould will help. Soil development precedes plant growth, and ultimately trees. It is hoped that wildlife will return to the mountain, some of which has not been seen there for many years. 

It is hoped that three thousand acres will be turned into a nature reserve with various native tree species, and the plans are for the redevelopment of Atlantic rain forest, a rare kind of flora, once prevalent in the North West of Britain. I have previously written an article about the reviving of this kind of forest in North Wales. To do this project will require native trees and encouragement of mosses and lichens in the rejuvenated woodland. 

Some objections can be disposed of quickly. Some have objected that three thousand feet is too high for a nature reserve, but if you follow the line of latitude on which Skiddaw stands eastward you reach the Urals, which are tree -covered  to greater height than three thousand feet. The tree line runs above most mountains of Britain. Prior to the last few centuries ot commercial exploitation  the tree cover in Cumbria was much greater than it is now. We are merely restoring lost flora.

There is also the problem that we do not know what the trees will be like. Will they be the tall standard trees that are found in Cumbria's woods, or will they  be stunted and gnarled by the powerful westerly winds which scour the coastal regions of the British Isles, rendering them more like the Tolkien-like woodlands depicted in the Lord of the Rings.

How will they be protected from grazing deer, which roam woodland Britain, stripping tree bark with impunity, careful work by foresters will be needed, along with a management strategy. There are other issues, How will we favour and promote the native red squirrel at the expense of the non-native, intrusive grey species.  How will the woods be managed for sustainable eco-tourism and hiking. There is much that is unclear, that is part and parcel of the rewilding agenda.We should relish the challenge.

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