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Coombs Dale is a steep-sided, dry
Coombs Dale is a steep-sided, dry carboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period. These rocks formed between 363 ...
valley in the Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...
of England. The village of Calver
Calver ( Old English ''Calf Slope'') is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 710.
Overview
Calver is a small village situated in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. The village ...
lies about 1 km to the east and the village of Stoney Middleton
Stoney Middleton is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. It is in the White Peak area of the Peak District southeast of Eyam and northwest of Calver, on the A623 road at the foot of the limeston ...
lies less than 1 km to the north. The dale is cut into the hills on the east side of Longstone Moor. The upper end of the dale is known as Rough Side. Several springs flow down the dale during winter and after heavy rains.
The fossil-rich limestone was formed from deposits in a warm shallow sea in the Brigantian stage of the Carboniferous period (around 330 million years ago). Coombs Dale is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Ash trees and hazel grow on the scree slopes of the dale sides. Varied shrubs and wild flowers include dogwood
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shru ...
, blackthorn
''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania ...
, common rock-rose
''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical s ...
, wild thyme
''Thymus serpyllum'', known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. I ...
, bloody cranesbill, lily-of-the-valley
Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' (), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate N ...
, mountain melick, woolly thistle
''Cirsium eriophorum'', the woolly thistle, is a herbaceous biennial species of flowering plant in the genus '' Cirsium'' of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Europe. It is a large biennial plant with sharp spines on the tip ...
, maiden pink
''Dianthus deltoides'', the maiden pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to most of Europe and western Asia.Den Virtuella Floran''Dianthus deltoides'' (in Swedish, with maps)/ref>Flora Europaea''Dianthus deltoides''/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wils ...
, leadwort Leadwort is a common name for various flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, in particular those in the genera:
*''Ceratostigma''
*''Plumbago''
It can also refer to metallophyte plants capable of tolerating high levels of lead, such as spri ...
, cowslip, rare dark-red helleborine
''Epipactis atrorubens'', the dark-red helleborine or royal helleborine, is an herbaceous plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae.
As with many other species of orchids, the species is legally protected in some countries. Plantlife designated the ...
and orchids. The local limestone fern ''Gymnocarpium robertianum'' thrives on the scree and the rare fingered sedge ''Carex digitata'' can be found in places. Grazed native grasses are mainly meadow oat-grass
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artif ...
and glaucous sedge
''Carex flacca'', with common names blue sedge, gray carex, glaucous sedge, or carnation-grass, (syn. ''Carex glauca''), is a species of sedge native to parts of Europe and North Africa.
. The dale is also habitat for dark green fritillary
The dark green fritillary (''Speyeria aglaja'') is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The insect has a wide range in the Palearctic realm - Europe, Morocco, Iran, Siberia, Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan.
Description in Seit ...
and brown argus
''Aricia agestis'', the brown argus, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, north to northern Jutland (Denmark) and east to Siberia and the Tian Shan.
Subspecies
*''A. a. agestis'' southern and ce ...
butterflies.
Longstone Edge, above the south side of the dale, has been mined for minerals for many centuries. Lead mining heaps and beehive mine shafts are spread across the terrain. Nearby Cavendish Mill has been a processing centre for fluorspar
Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon.
The Mohs scal ...
since 1965. Sallet Hole Mine is a 19th-century fluorspar mine in the centre of Coombs Dale, which closed in 1998. There is a disused quarry at the foot of Coombs Dale.
Black Harry Gate is at the head of the dale, leading onto Black Harry Lane (an old packhorse route across the moorland). In the early 18th century, a notorious highwayman called Black Harry ambushed and robbed travellers crossing the local moors. He was finally caught by the Castleton constabulary and was hanged, drawn and quartered on the Gallows Tree at nearby Wardlow Mires. There also used to be a Black Harry Farm but it was demolished in the 1970s when the Blakedon Hollow lagoon was built to treat the waste from the fluorspar industry.
Coombs Dale is designated as 'Open Access' land for the public, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000.
Right to roam
The Act imp ...
. There is an easy-going footpath along the length of the valley floor. There is access into the dale from both ends, as well as footpaths from Stoney Middleton and Calver into the central section of the valley.
Coombs Dale was featured on the TV programme ''Walks Around Britain'' in 2016 (season 2 episode 6).{{Cite web, url=https://www.walksaroundbritain.co.uk/coombsdale, title=Stoney Middleton to Coombs Dale walk, last=Media, first=Nova Digital, website=Walks Around Britain, language=en-GB, access-date=16 April 2020
References