UKC

I'm seeing from Edale mrt on twitter that there's a big fire ongoing with requests to avoid the area. I know no other details, but giving these crags crags a wide berth seems sensible

It doesn't need saying, but BE CAREFUL! It's still really dry and this wind will be a killer

Lady Canning's Plantation was burning last night; visible from Fulwood.

Christ, that didn’t take long. After the wettest winter and spring in years, a few days of sun and the Eastern moors are on fire. Excellent. 

Visible from Chesterfield at about 9.30pm last night. Looked more on Burbage / Houndkirk moor - at the time but not far from Lady Cannings so I guess it spread there. Luckily wet this morning and too cloudy to see that far so hopefully its been damped down by now.

It isn’t cannings. It’s from ox stones the head of the fire got to burbage rocks at about 2am, stopped by the path on the top. The flank then was moving toward burbage north.

Update from Sheffield City Council is that despite the news reports, the fire is on the moor in the Ox Stones area (as mnf_nelson says). Everyone is asked to avoid the whole area between Lady Cannings plantation and the Green Drive (including the Green Drive itself) for the time being. Eastern Moors Partnership and Sheffield CC are working with the fire service to manage the situation and hope to have it under control within the next 24 hours.

Photos from last night look horrific. Basically the moorland between Ox Stones and the crag top at Burbage was ablaze.  Herculean effort to stop it jumping the crag top into the woodland below.

Follow @tpltravelled on Twitter for more info.  https://twitter.com/tpltravelled/status/1663985902635368459?s=20

https://twitter.com/tpltravelled/status/1663983435726159872?s=20

Also this blog post which highlights just how prevalent "wild camping" is in the area https://thepathlesstravelled.co.uk/2023/05/29/three-days-in-may/

Interesting to observe that man made features (busy and arguably unsightly paths) are acting as effective fire breaks.

Not good, hopefully they can get it under control before too much damage is done. I know this has been discussed previously, but arguably very busy moors are lower fire risk as incidents are likely to get seen/reported sooner and therefore be brought under control relatively quickly.

Wow that's depressing - is there any hope that these issues can be solved ☹

https://abitblackoverbillsmothers.substack.com/p/firestarters?r=2vsz5&u...

Wild camping isn't necessarily the problem, it's "idiots" (I'd like to use a stronger word).

While no race, religion, country or period in history holds the monopoly on idiots (they're everywhere), fires feel like more a problem in recent years. As smoking is less common, you'd have hoped fires would be less common, accidental ones anyway..

Although climate change is a serious topic, I think a bigger factor is behaviour. All parts of the Peak have been over popular for years so I don't think post-COVID staycation is the only factor either.

In my mind I think that there used to be more emphasis on teaching and publicising the countryside code. Although idiots don't necessarily follow it, I have a non-evidenced feeling that there's less emphasis on it. I'd bet that a higher proportion of outdoor "users" haven't heard of it than ever before.

It'd be interesting if there's any evidence to confirm my pet theory, that the countryside code is less well known now than in the past.

And... a huge THANK YOU to all the fire service and volunteers involved in tackling these fires.

Agree on both accounts, I don’t anymore but used to wild camp in my younger days I never found the NEED for a fire or BBQ  but sure it would have been nice I have camped on sites where they allow this and it is nice, but not in the countryside that’s just selfish in my eyes. Another problem is a sense of entitlement that seems to prevail, I never once got asked to move (discreet is the key I used a British army basha DPM in summer MTP is better in winter etc.)  but always knew If I was asked it was my responsibility to leave, & my responsibility to not only clean up my stuff but any I came across on the way out now I feel more and more people just feel it’s their RIGHT not a privilege to be appreciated.     

The optics have changed. Dossing out and about is rife round there - van and tent This is seen and normalises the idea. Do van dwellers, for example, know you can park overnight in oddfellows carpark in Hathersage for a quid and have use of the village toilets? So depressing. I'm all for a ranger service with legal powers to address wild camping in areas like the Eastern Peak or Ladybower now. You can rely on the goodwill and responsibility of people up to a point but in my opinion, after educating and asking have failed, these people should be told and ordered to leave.

Sadly, I think public/landowner sentiment about 'wild camping' is going to be increasingly negative. The idiots will always spoil it for everyone else.

I am off to sleep in the hills in a couple of weeks - I've decided to be even more discreet than I usually am.

I like the term "fly camping" for this sort of irresponsible form of it, leaving litter, lighting fires etc.  But equally to be honest I find most of the Peak isn't really wild enough, bar perhaps the more barren area towards the Woodhead Pass/Snake Pass.  Near the main climbing bits it's a bit more like shoving a tent up in the middle of Hyde Park or something.  I'd just book into North Lees.

Yeah, do agree with this. If "wild camping" meant one or two people turning up somewhere quiet under their own power, discretely rolling out bivvy bags or pitching a small tent at about bedtime and taking any mess out with them in the morning then it'd hardly be an issue, it's the idea that lighting a campfire or having a barbecue in tinder-dry moorland or woodland is a normal part of the "outdoor experience" that we really need to get shot of.