Under Threat ?

The new title picture is one of my own favourites. I can't think of another one that comes closer to showing why early mornings can be such a magical time.

But what about this Landscape Under Threat ? How, and from whom?

Principally in three ways:

1 Under threat from top down management that wishes to throw away those things that have made Blacka Moor so appealing over the last half century - nature going its own way - and to impose interventionist grouse moor management including removing mature native trees.

2 The views to the east are an enormous part of Blacka’s appeal. Increasingly there are threats coming from inappropriate development. The latest of these is the Fairthorn building on Townhead Road a grotesquely over-sized edifice that catches the reluctant eye from many parts of Blacka. Many believe that more poor planning decisions will follow. Local people need to be organised to fight the developers and the planners.

3 Motor vehicles and even pedal cycles are encroaching onto parts of the local countryside and even onto Blacka. The result is serious damage to paths and bridleways.