Bridestones Moor Local Geology Site, Todmorden
Our attention was drawn by local publicity to developments on Bridestones Moor. A community group, Bridestones Rewilded, concerned about a possible threat to biodiversity on the moor in the face of the sale of the land, has drawn up plans to purchase an area which includes the Bridestones, a spectacular group of weathered sandstones which stand on top of the moor overlooking Cliviger Gorge, with a view to improving the biodiversity of the area. The stones are designated by WYGT as an important example of wind-eroded features formed towards the end of the last glacial event when there may have been ice on the Lancashire Plain, but little vegetation on the high Pennines which allowed cold winds to wear away the coarse sandstone grains of the Lower Kinderscout Grit. A small group of us enjoyed a visit in October 2024 to meet with members of the group so that we could understand the threat which further development would mean, both for the geodiversity and the biodiversity of the site.