Scrub: Topley Pike and Deepdale
Areas of scrub exist in many Peak District dales. In Topley Pike and Deepdale, hazel scrub has developed. This is unique to the White Peak and develops in formerly wooded areas where an open canopy allows a mix of ground flora to develop. Hazel is the dominant species, complimented by aspen, purging buckthorn, dogwood and guelder rose. On the ground, woodland plants such as dogs mercury, lily of the valley, wood sage and broad-leaved helleborine co-exist alongside grassland species such as rock-rose and bloody cranesbill. The rare Nottingham catch-fly is also present in hazel scrub as well as declining bird species such as linnet and whitethroat.
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Hawthorn scrub, consisting of hawthorn, blackthorn and buckthorn, also exists and has developed, both where grazing pressure on grasslands has been reduced, and on bare or disturbed areas such as around Topley Pike quarry. This scrub is vital for a number of declining bird species, including the yellowhammer and bullfinch, and provides food and shelter for numerous invertebrates, as well as green hairstreak, grizzled skipper and brimstone butterflies.
The ability of hawthorn scrub in particular to colonise disturbed areas highlights the potential for extension of this habitat into quarries after extraction has ceased.
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