15th October 2025

 Mission — Friends of Bridestones Rewilded

Good news yesterday, or so I hope.  Bridestone Moor, approximately 114 acres of moorland has been bought for 'rewilding' by a local group of people.  The princely sum of £387,000 has been raised and it is now a done deal.

Reading the blog highlighted below I am not too sure of whether shooting will take place of the red legged grouse the species that live up on this moor,  and there is some speculation of how to approach control.  See here  Though of course nature has always worked that one out.  It is only humankind that upset the balance.

Traditional conservation of species through managed populations is not always in keeping with rewilding values. There remain conflicting arguments surrounding the ecological importance of species such as the red grouse because there is a history of it being a managed species bred and released on moorlands for game shooting. This means that the numbers and distribution of red grouse today may not reflect that of natural population if unmanaged. The natural selection pressures that determine the delicate balance of species numbers and cohabitation with other species, are difficult to predict and replicate.

The poor old red legged grouse is a game bird, The Glorious 12th and all that.  I can see how this land got sold off, there is a public right on the moor to visit the area and especially the Bridestones, as we did the other week.  Members of the public are not allowed to be shot!

A grouse butt for hiding in because those grouse are such bullies.  Sorry

Funnily enough I haven't seen any butts up on the moors here not like the North Yorkshire moors pictured above.  You can see that I am no fan of shooting the millions of introduced and bred pheasants. And grouse.  So already we are talking of a 'managed environment' if they allow shooting on the moor.

Apparently the grouse are prone to worm, this due to overgrazing of the heather so this is somewhat of a break in their breeding.  But medicated grit is also put down to help with this problem of worms.

It will be good to see the Belted Galloway cattle up on the moor, I saw them down on the Cornish moors such as Bodmin Moor.