Hartington Meadows, Kaite Helps

Fragrant orchid, Hopton Quarry, credit Natural Diversity

Skylark, Amy Lewis

Kestrel, Steve Waterhouse

Hartington Meadows

Meadows bursting with wild flowers and birdsong during the summer - a great stop off the Tissington Trail.

Location

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Hartington Station car park,

Hartington, near Ashbourne

Derbyshire

SK17 0AZ

OS Map Reference

SK 1493 6094

Know before you go

Size

8 hectares

Entry fee

Parking information

Hartington Station car park, SK17 0AZ on the Tissington Trail

Bicycle parking

Yes - Hartington Station car park, SK17 0AZ

Grazing animals

Yes

Access

Because of the dangerous state of its faces, there is no access to the quarry.

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

Summer for orchids, wild flowers and plenty of insects

About the reserve

Hartington Meadows is bursting with the colour of wild flowers through the summer.

The grassland is managed as part of a working farm, and is cut for hay in mid-July - this encourages meadow flowers such as hay rattle and meadow vetchling. Different flowers grow on the rock outcrops - among them are clustered bellflower and dropwort.

The rough grassland also provides breeding sites for skylark and ground-nesting birds. Various orchids and other limestone flowers thrive in and around the disused limestone quarry, while its faces provide breeding sites for cliff-nesting birds such as kestrel and jackdaw.