Whilst mother nature could be said to be the real Reserve Manager of Lathkill Dale,
Natural England also has a role to play. Take the Dale's grasslands, in common with
almost all others in the country, they aren't natural features. They are the product
of years - in Lathkill Dale's case many hundreds of years - of grazing with sheep and
cattle. If it weren't for this grazing, the open dalesides would soon revert to
scrub and eventually woodland. We, however, value the grasslands very highly for
their array of flowers, mosses, insects and all the other elements that make up such
a complex ecosystem, not to mention for their beauty. So we step in to prevent the
natural process of vegetation succession by continuing the age-old practice of annual
stock grazing, which keeps the grassland in trim and the ecosystem functioning.
The River Lathkill is another habitat which requires a two-way relationship between
mother nature and Natural England. Find out more about how we manage the river:
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