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MANAGEMENT OF THE LAND
The overall aim of the National Park Authority is to conserve and hence the characteristic features which make the Peak District National Park unique. In doing this, the Authority has to consider the needs of the people who live in the Park and to provide for the quiet enjoyment of the beautiful landscape by those who visit the Park.
Management of the seemingly natural landscape is necessary to preserve the qualities of wildness, openness and sense of history that are enjoyed by the visitors. The land around Langsett is nearly all privately owned, much of it by Yorkshire Water, and therefore management has to be by agreement between the landowner and the National Park Authority.
Langsett Bank Woods
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Langsett Bank Woods
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The Moorland
What are now large expanses of moorland were once forest. This natural woodland was cleared by the earliest settlers (possibly as long at 5,000 years ago) to provide clearings for hunting and then to graze their animals and to grow crops on the light sandy soils. Evidence of the ancient woodland can be seen in the tree stumps preserved in the peat bordering some of the cloughs.
These early farmers cultivated each area of land until nothing more would grow on it and then moved on to clear another area. The soils were left very poor and capable of supporting very little vegetation. The number of species of plants which grow on the acid soils of the moorland is still very limited. Heather is the most widespread species with various wild grasses. There is also bilberry and crowberry.
Grouse Moors
Heather moorland is a semi-natural vegetation that has to be maintained by management. Without careful management, overgrazing (by the sheep kept on the moors) would lead to the destruction of heather and its replacement by grass moor and bracken. Without suitable grazing and/or burning, scrub would gradually take over, resulting eventually in birch woodland.
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Shooting butt
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Controlled burning of moorland
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The moors have been used for shooting for a long time. The Midhope moors were considered particularly good in the Victorian era when there were many ‘gentlemen of leisure’ to spend time on country pursuits such as shooting. At that time a ‘ticket’ for a day’s shooting would cost you £13. Now it will cost around £1,000!
Landowners point out that it is the income from grouse shooting that pays for the conservation of this beautiful landscape. By managing the moorland to increase the numbers of grouse available for shooting (combined with traditional hill sheep farming), the landowners have also provided a habitat for other wildlife such as the golden plover. Kestrels may also be seen over the moorland. Mountain hares (brown in summer but white in the winter as camouflage in the snow) are often seen on the moor and small lizards are common in sunny weather.
MAKING PROVISION FOR VISITORS
The Langsett area is ideally placed for the visitor. The towns of Stocksbridge and Penistone lie close to Langsett and the area is almost equidistant from the larger urban developments of Sheffield, Huddersfield and Manchester. It is therefore an easy drive to Langsett for millions of people who wish to spend a day in the countryside.
Walking
Large areas of moorland (Midhope and Howden Moors) stretch away to the south and west, to provide an attraction for walkers and hikers. (About 3.75 million people visit the Peak District National Park every year to go walking).
Before the Peak District became a National Park in 1951, vast areas of the moors were strictly preserved for the rearing, management and shooting of grouse or as water-gathering grounds by the municipal authorities. Gamekeepers were employed to keep the ramblers off the moors and straying off one of the very few footpaths could result in an unpleasant encounter with one of the keepers.
Within two years of the Peak District becoming Britain’s first National Park, the first access agreement allowing free access, except for a few days during the grouse-shooting season, had been signed. Many more such agreements have followed and much of the moorland around Langsett is now ‘Open Country’ where the walker may ‘wander at will’ over the moor, without having to keep to marked footpaths (except when the moor is closed for grouse shooting). Walkers must keep to footpaths to cross other moorland areas.
Attractions of Water
Three water areas (Langsett, Midhope and Underbank reservoirs) provide a focus for visitors. In these areas conservation of the landscape and wildlife can be combined with quiet enjoyment such as walking, picnicking or birdwatching. Other forms of recreation which make a greater demand on the environment, such as boating, are not allowed.
Erosion
One consequence of the popularity of the moorland with walkers is the gradual erosion of the paths, worn away by millions of pairs of feet. The acid soil of the peat moors is particularly sensitive to erosion as the vegetation is very slow to regenerate and in some cases will never do so without some help. Some areas have had to be fenced to control the erosion.
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| Restoration of Langsett Barn |
To provide some facilities for the many visitors to the area, Langsett Barn - a listed 15th century barn - has recently been restored. The project was jointly undertaken by the National Park Authority, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Yorkshire Water, Langsett Parish Council and the Countryside Commission, working through the Peak Park Trust (a charity which works to conserve the local heritage).
The restored barn now provides a village hall for Langsett and a Ranger Centre. A car park, picnic site and toilets are also provided for the use of visitors.
Langsett Barn can be booked for use by school groups by contacting Karen Boam at : The Peak District National Park Office, Bakewell. Telephone: 01629 816200.
Visits to the Reservoir and Treatment Works can be arranged for groups. To arrange a visit or talk please contact: Public Relations Officer, Yorkshire Water Southern Division, Cattle Market Building, Exchange Street, Sheffield, S1 1GB.
Conservation Area
The barn lies within Langsett Conservation Area, one of the 8,000 Conservation Areas nationwide, which are created to look after, and where possible improve, the architectural quality of towns and villages. Langsett has an interesting mix of pseudo-Gothic Water Board buildings and the traditionally built farm buildings and cottages. There is no regular building pattern; the village alternatives between close-knit groups of buildings and a series of spaces opening out from these constricted points. Throughout, local gritstone is the main building material, linking Langsett firmly to its surrounding hills.
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