Longstone Edge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Longstone Edge |
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 Longstone Edge
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| OS grid reference | SK217735 |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BAKEWELL |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
Longstone Edge is a long, rocky ridge made of limestone. You can find it in the beautiful Peak District National Park, located in Derbyshire, England.
This ridge sits just north of a village called Great Longstone. That village is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) north of the town of Bakewell. Longstone Edge stretches for about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from east to west. It goes from the village of Calver all the way to the River Wye at Monsal Dale. The ridge is about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) wide and reaches a height of about 395 meters (1,296 feet). From its top, you can see amazing views across the Peak District.
Quarrying and Protecting the Park
For a long time, people have been digging up rocks and minerals from Longstone Edge. This process is called quarrying. They have dug for materials like galena (a lead ore), fluorspar (used in many industries), and barytes (used in drilling). More recently, there has been a lot of digging for limestone.
Longstone Edge is a very special and beautiful place. It is also part of the Peak District National Park. National Parks are protected areas. Because of this, many local people want the quarrying to stop completely. They want to keep the natural beauty of the area safe.
The Peak District National Park Authority is in charge of protecting the park. They try to control how much quarrying happens. However, some quarries, like those at Backdale and Wager's Flat, were digging more than the rules allowed. The Authority had a long legal fight to try and stop this extra quarrying.
In February 2008, a court first decided in favor of the company that owned the land, Bleaklow Industries Ltd. This meant quarrying at Backdale quarry started again. But the National Park Authority did not give up. They were allowed to challenge that decision in a higher court.
Meanwhile, different groups who cared about the environment worked together. They tried to get the government to buy the old digging rights from the landowner. This would have stopped the quarrying for good.
In February 2009, the higher court changed the earlier decision. The judges said that the original rules from 1952 had to be followed correctly. This meant that the main focus of digging should be on fluorspar, not on large amounts of limestone.
Bleaklow Industries tried to appeal this new decision, but they were not allowed to. In July 2009, the quarrying at Backdale Quarry finally stopped. All the digging machines were removed. Bleaklow Industries still owns other land on Longstone Edge with similar old digging rights.
