The Peak District National Park comprises the limestone territory of the White Peak bracketed to the north and west by the gritstone based Dark Peak. Towards the south of the Dark Peak area, moorland gives way to rocky escarpments known as The Edges. A haven for walkers and climbers, as well as a nesting place for the rare ring ouzels, they’ve been shaped by both the millstone industry and centuries of erosion. |
Beyond the edge of the world
We patrolled the Edge, scanning for intruders scrambling up the scarp. In summer sun, our boots scraped the surface of our path to sand; in winter rain it turned to mud. We built our homes from gritstone boulders; we chiselled millstones from our native rocks. When heather bloomed, we’d feast on bilberries; we’d spot the wild mountain hare when snow began to melt. Our land provided all we needed, and yet …
“What’s down there, Grandpa? Is there life below the Edge?”
“Don’t go mixing with them Limestone people. They’s not like us.”