Forests ancient and modern:
Hundred Acre Wood, Buxton
In ancient times, the great Peak Forest lay to the north of the River Wye. To the west and south west lay Macclesfield Forest and Malbanc Frith. As early as the medieval period, flatter ground had been cleared to form scrubby heathland, with dense woodland confined mainly to steeper slopes. These hunting areas largely coincided with the outcrop of the Millstone Grit. The Peak ceased to be a Royal Forest in 1630 and is now mostly pasture and grousemoor. Large areas of woodland were felled to provide props used in lead mines or fuel for lime burning.
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Other areas were coppiced to provide fuel for 16th -18th century lead or iron smelting, or bobbins for cotton mills. This area is now a patchwork of small plantations. Most were planted in the 19th century by the Dukes of Devonshire. Some were intended as a backdrop to enhance views from Buxton. This included the ‘greening' of lime tips on Grinlow to form the 100 acre wood and screening of the sandstone quarries at Corbar, as well as decorative landscaping along the present A6 and A515, around Orient Lodge and King Sterndale.
Since the 1970s, large-scale tree planting has been carried out to hide modern quarrying at Tunstead/Old Moor, Carlton Hill and Brierlow, and as part of the major land reclamation around Dove Holes.
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