Thornhill Carrs

This project is available for public Spotting but Trapping is restricted. If you would like to join this project as a Trapper please contact us at info@mammalweb.org.

Thornhill Carrs Nature Reserve:

This 30 hectare area of former farmland is a unique site, rare within The Peak District National Park for its unmanaged Wildness. It is currently home to a fantastic array of wild woodland, scrub, and beautiful wild flower meadows.

Thornhill is a steep sided valley dominated by extensive hawthorn scrub and open glades. The reserve is important for summer bird migrants when you can hear blackcap, chiff chaff and willow warbler taking advantage of this ever rarer habitat. In July the site is rich in wildflowers which attract many species of bee, butterfly and hoverfly. It is a new site to the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust that we have managed since spring 2020, and we plan to take a new approach in its management allowing nature to dictate how the site evolves. We will have grazing animals on the site in very low numbers to keep the clearings open and keep the scrub and bramble in check.

As part of a wider monitoring programme we are using camera traps to establish a baseline for wildlife at Thornhill Carrs.