Winter Hill: Images show life returning a year after fire

The blaze ripped through the moorland, burning for 41 days from June 28 2018 and destroying many of the plants on the Bolton section of the West Pennine Moors, as well as paths, fences and other infrastructure built for walkers.

Since the incident, staff and an army of volunteers at the Woodland Trust have worked to give the area a new life. The location falls under the trust’s Smithills Estate, the biggest site it manages in England - which runs from Smithills Hall up to the TV tower which sits atop Winter Hill.

Mark Gordon, site manager for the Woodland Trust, explained the methods that have been used to try and bring wildlife back to the hilltop.

One of the main problems faced by the staff was the fire breaks which were quickly dug out by firefighters after the blaze begin.

The measures did their job in stopping the spread of flames across the moor but also left large sections damaged with plants and soil ripped up.

Mr Gordon said: “While they were fighting the fire, they were putting in fire breaks, these stopped the fire but they also damaged the moorland and we have had to work to put all that back.”

In an effort to counteract the impact of the fires and provide some protection from future outbreaks, representatives from the trust has been digging channels in the moorland known as ‘grips’.

These furrows dug through the peat provide a trench to allow water to flow off the moors, which helps to stop soil being eroded in the absence of plant life.

However, they can also be used to create new areas for plants through a process known as grip-blocking. This involves damning the small channels every few metres to create small ponds which have the joint impact of raising the water level and creating small ponds which are used by wildlife.

Mr Gordon explained that these processes had begun to allow the moorland’s wildlife to recover in the period following the fire.

Despite this, around 15 percent of the Woodland Trust’s land on Winter Hill remains bare.

“In one way it’s bounced back quite well,” he said.

“Bare ground is the big issue but in around three months the grasses started to come back.

“What we have lost though is diversity. Things like heathers take around 20 years to grow fully and these have been massively set back. You can’t just bring in fully grown plants you need all the stages of these as part of the habitat.”

In addition to the wildlife across Winter Hill, the Woodland Trust is also responsible for much of infrastructure used by walkers on the moors and a large amount of this - including over 2km of wooden fencing - was also destroyed in the fire.

Since the blaze, staff have been working to reinstate these paths and fences to allow people to walk over the moorland again but the fencing also serves an important purpose in protecting the land from grazing animals.

Winter Hill is almost entirely grazed by sheep which can eat plants attempting to grow back and can leave bare areas which are more susceptible to flooding.

Jointly, these measures have helped to bring life back to the moors, although the process could take a number of years.

Anyone who would like to find out more about the Woodland Trust’s work in Bolton or offer a donation to help with the work of revitalising Winter Hill, should visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk.