Main image: Firefighters from Cheshire Fire and Rescue service work to tackle the Goyt Valley wildfire | Credit: Alastair Johnstone-Hack / Climate Visuals
These photographs show the scorched and charred landscape above Errwood Reservoir in the Goyt Valley near Buxton in the Peak District, after a wildfire the size of 325 football pitches swept across moorland in early May. They were taken three days after the fire started burning, with fire crews continuing to deal with hotspots and working to prevent areas from reigniting.
I wanted the photographs to convey the scale of the damage caused by a fire such as this one, to show what remains after the flames and smoke have gone. Looking up the clough and onto the hill from where I first reached the fire edge, the moorland was blackened and smoking as far as the eye could see.
Just the occasional patch of green or a tree standing out against what was otherwise a transformed, almost otherworldly landscape. A flock of sheep wandered in the distance, starkly white against the scorched ground, and curlews flew, calling loudly, overhead. As I walked around I occasionally saw what looked to be the remnants of eggs from the ground nesting birds that a few days before had been hidden away in the heather and grass.
It was an eerie, shocking, scene. I’m looking forward to the colour coming back as the landscape recovers.
Editor’s note: According to Peak District National Park figures, there have been over 350 reported incidents of wildfires since 1976 of which the majority are commonly started by arson, discarded cigarettes, barbeques and campfires. It is not the only upland area suffering the effects of the dry start to Spring this year with wildfires burning through a number of our parks and rural areas.
At the end of April, the BBC reported that the area of the UK burnt by wildfires so far in 2025 was already higher than the total for any year in more than a decade, as suggested by satellite data.
Early reporting of a fire is essential and anyone seeing a fire should dial 999 to notify the Fire Service. But prevention is better. We can all prevent wildfires by not taking any flames – including BBQs, campfires, cigarettes, matches and fireworks – into upland, moorland and woodland areas. Also, responsibly dispose of litter or take it home with you. Even a dropped metal tin or glass bottle can cause a flame which starts a catastrophic fire.
According to Mountaineering Scotland, fires can move with astonishing speed in the right conditions. If there’s a fire in the distance, monitor the situation, and if it gets closer think about escape routes or areas that could provide shelter: windblown rocky ridges that will shelter you from both flames and smoke, or (as a last resort) a beck or stream. While sheltering in a sufficiently wide streambed should protect you from the fire, smoke still poses a serious risk. It’s better to put as much distance between you and the fire as possible.
Learn more via Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s Be Moor Aware campaign.
