Healthy peatlands at Skiddaw Forest, England’s highest nature reserve, will:

• Stop the further release of damaging CO2 into the atmosphere
• Slow the flow of water on the fells, reducing the impact of extreme weather events  on towns and villages downstream
• Allow wetland wildlife to thrive - rare species will be common once more 
• Encourage people to experience the wilderness at this iconic location

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is putting Skiddaw Forest’s damaged peatland into recovery. At 1,077 acres (a similar size to Derwentwater), this is the largest and most expensive peatland restoration project that we've carried out in a single year. 

The peatland restoration at Skiddaw Forest is funded by Biffa Award, whose award of over £500,000 is also funding the repair of 6,000m of damaged and degraded boundary fencing, as well as much-needed repairs to the access track through the nature reserve.

Skiddaw Forest has one of the largest areas of continuous blanket bog in the Lake District. Our detailed surveys earlier this year of this globally-rare habitat showed that most of the peatland at Skiddaw Forest is damaged and needs to be restored. 

Susie Webb, Peatland Team Manager for Cumbria Wildlife Trust explains the importance of this work:  

“Peatlands are a huge carbon store so they’re essential in our fight against climate change. When damaged, as sadly most peat is in the UK, it becomes dried and exposed to the elements, and instead of storing and taking up carbon, it releases it back into the atmosphere as CO2.

“So it’s really important that we bring the peatlands at Skiddaw Forest back to health, so that they keep carbon locked up in the ground. Once they’re returned to a healthy, functioning habitat they’ll also start to absorb carbon as they build up more peat.

“Once improved, the peatlands will also slow the flow of water off the fells, which will help protect local communities downstream from flooding, and will benefit a huge variety of wildlife. We expect to see an increase in specialist plants such as sundews and Sphagnum mosses and greater numbers of dragonflies, while birds such as snipe, which live on wet grassland, marshes and moorlands, will benefit from the rewetted ground.”  

“We’re very grateful to Biffa Award for funding this massive peatland restoration project. It’s the largest and most expensive peatland restoration project we’ve carried out in a single year and it’s a nature recovery project with wide impacts.”

Contractors with heavy machinery have just started work on the peatlands, blocking artificial ditches that are currently draining the site. They’ll also revegetate bare peat areas, to stop erosion and encourage the return of plants such as Sphagnum moss, which play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs by storing water in their spongy forms.

The peatland works are likely to take three to four months. Public access to Skiddaw Forest won’t be affected but visitors are asked to stay away from any large machinery.

In addition, six kilometres of fencing has been delivered to the slopes of Skiddaw Forest, and repairs to the damaged western boundary at our newest nature reserve are getting underway. 

Also funded by Biffa Award, this will be one of the longest fences that we've ever installed and thanks to a new type of metal post, it will withstand the harsh conditions on Skiddaw Forest for much longer than more conventional fencing.  

The fencing is vital to keep off wandering sheep, so that plants can recover and thrive. The vehicle track at Skiddaw Forest will also be repaired, giving easier access for these works.

Skiddaw Forest is open access land and people can continue to enjoy visiting the nature reserve while this work is taking place. It’s not expected that the bridleway will be affected and contractors will make sure the public is aware if they’re working near any paths.

Rachel Maidment, Grants Manager at Biffa Award, said:

“Biffa Award, as part of the Government’s Landfill Communities Fund, is proud to support this ambitious project with a grant of £527,154. Restoring Skiddaw Forest’s precious peatland will help protect an important carbon store, create better conditions for wildlife and strengthen the landscape’s resilience for local communities. We look forward to seeing this remarkable nature reserve recover and thrive for generations to come.”

Biffa Award is a multi-million pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through awarding grants to communities and environmental projects across England and Northern Ireland, as part of the Government's Landfill Communities Fund.

Thanks to a long-term partnership with Aviva, we secured £5 million to kickstart the acquisition of Skiddaw Forest Nature Reserve. Following a hugely successful fundraising appeal in which thousands of people helped raise £1.25m, and with additional support from charitable funders, we were able to complete the purchase of England’s highest nature reserve in 2024. 

The development of Skiddaw Forest, a 100-year vision, will see 3,000 acres of habitat restored, including just over 1,000 acres of peat bog and the creation of 620 acres of temperate rainforest.