On a very wet Wednesday, we were excited to join forces with the the South West Peatland Partnership to offer a guided walk around the SWPP peatland restoration works around Ockerton Court and Cranmere Pool.
Covering a lot of (boggy) ground we took our 15 guests through completed restoration areas from last years work and onto some work in progress. One thing that struck everyone was how quickly the completed works had blended into the moor. This was particularly important when viewing the work-in-progress site which looked slightly alarming at first glance; diggers, bare peat and the paraphernalia of a building site. However, the rapid colonisation of sphagnum moss, invertebrates, dragonflies and wetland birds such a Teal onto the completed areas in just a year was heartening for the future.
We had the chance to pose questions about long term maintenance and updating OS mapping to record the new restoration areas and their pools. This is an important consideration for walkers and events like Ten Tors that range over the northern part of Dartmoor.
Despite heavy rain and blustery wind, this was a informative and useful visit and we are very pleased to have partnered with SWPP on it.
Sphagnum moss grows in wet locations including peat bogs, marshland, moorland and heaths and this very special plant plays an important role in the creation and continuation of peat bogs. Soaking up more than eight times their own weight in water, sphagnum plants retain moisture long after the surrounding soil has dried out. This steady, moist environment prevents the decay of accumulated dead plant material, and it is this material that is compressed over many years to become peat. A lush carpet of moss may be made from up to 30 species of native UK sphagnum mosses, which grow happily side by side and can prove hard to tell apart.
Rachael Land, SWPP walk leader, said, ‘Thank you to everyone who joined us for our guided walk out and around the South West Peatland Partnership peatland restoration works at Cranmere last week. Everyone brought enthusiasm and brilliant questions, despite the rain, and we all really enjoyed the discussions we had on everything from sphagnum mosses to diggers and archaeology. It won’t be long until the peat bunds and blocked erosion channels we saw created will be holding back water and making this area of Dartmoor’s peatland that bit more diverse, boggy, and thriving. Perhaps we can head back out again to see them settled in…this time on a sunnier day!’
This walk was one of four partnership walks offered in 2025. We’re delighted to be able to team up with local businesses and organisations in order to offer free and informative walks which give people the chance to learn more about the complex and nuanced landscape of Dartmoor. We hope that, by having these chances to ask questions directly to people involved in projects on the moor, people will feel connected to Dartmoor’s present and future. More walks and events can be found in our online diary.
Images: Rachael Land