Upper Hulme Live Cam

Few areas in Britain can compare with the Peak District for variety when it comes to plants, birds and animals and many of the habitats and species are of international importance. Because the Peak District stands at a climatic crossroads, where the highlands meet the lowlands, northern and southern species can both be found at the limits of their distribution.

As many as 50 species of plants per square metre have been counted growing in some of the Derbyshire dales, including the rare Jacob's Ladder. On old lead rakes (disused workings) uncommon species such as Alpine Pennycress and the Mountain Pansy can be seen.

The wild and remote bogs of the Dark Peak present a contrasting picture with their clumps of cotton grass and featherbed mosses. Equally glorious are the heather moors which, at the end of summer, paint the landscape with vast swathes of purple colour.

Traditional haymeadows have sadly disappeared from most of Britain but here you can still enjoy their fragrance and beauty, rich with flowers like Field Scabious, Lady's Bedstraw, Ox-eye Daisy, Hay Rattle and Common Knapweed.