East Midlands: Hoe Grange Quarry Open Day

Access to this butterfly reserve is normally by appointment only, but today it is being opened up to the public!

Come and see all the butterfly species found at Hoe Grange Quarry, including the beautiful Common Blue.

Visitors will be treated to free ice-cream and guided tours of the reserve, which is full of orchid flowers and other wildlife at this time of year! There will also be stalls selling plants, tea and cake.

BC’s Butterfly Recorder for the area, Ken Orpe, said: “The Common Blue is doing really well at Hoe Grange and in a good year, you can see as many as 200 butterflies on one day!

“We’re inviting families to come and see this butterfly and other species like the Wall butterfly between 11am and 4pm on Sunday 17 June.”

For the first time, visitors will also have the opportunity to look through a moth trap.

Ken added: “We have a number of day-flying moths at Hoe Grange like the beautiful Wood Tiger moth, but we also have plenty of night-time moths that people wouldn’t normally get to see, like the bright pink and green Elephant Hawk-moth.”

Hoe Grange Quarry sits on the southern edge of the Peak District, near the hamlet of Longcliffe, between Brassington and Elton.

Directions

• Proceed to the crossroads in the centre of Longcliffe village and park in the adjacent office car park of Longcliffe Quarries, Matlock DE4 4BZ.
• Transport will then be available to take visitors to and from the reserve.  

This abandoned limestone quarry has at least 26 species of butterflies, including Dark Green Fritillary and the Peak District version of the Brown Argus.

For more information about the day and how to get there, please contact Ken Orpe by emailing @email or contact the Reserve Warden, Ray Walker, on: 01335 390584.