Eighteen of us joined Julia Gow to visit this Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Reserve. After passing the noisy current day cement works we reached the old quarry, last worked around 1930, and now an oasis of peace and quiet. Julia told us that the quarry was once used as a holding pit for 'clinker' (a stage in the manufacture of cement). She showed us the stalagtites on the quarry walls which formed when the lime-rich clinker was stored here.
We also learnt that the site is rich
in plantlife because the soil is thin, and thanks to underlying volcanic rocks
the quarry floor holds water. We got some good views of the palmate newts that
live in these pools.
There were hundreds of marsh orchids just starting to
grow leaves, and it would be great to go back when they are in flower.We might just do that!
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