Hundreds of people have donated to the Trust’s appeal to raise £150,000 to secure the 194-acre Gun Moor, an ancient landscape near Leek with unploughed peatland soils that supports rare wildlife such as cuckoo, snipe and lesser redpoll. Functioning peatlands are crucial in the fight against climate change as they provide a fantastic way of locking in and storing carbon.

When Gun Moor came to the market in 2019, the Trust was very keen to secure the site as, not carrying any protection, the amazing mix of scrub, woodland, moorland and blanket bog could easily have been destroyed. 

The charity needed to act fast but didn't have the funds to buy the site, so entered into an agreement with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.  The Foundation were able to step in and purchase the land themselves with a "buy back" agreement giving the Trust two years to raise the funds needed to buy the land back at the original price. 

Gun Moor has breath-taking views in all directions and is also home to rare flora, including wild cranberry, bog asphodel, several types of sedge and the cross-leaved heath.

Thanks to the generous donations from the local community, corporates, charitable trusts and individuals, the future of the site is now secure and will be protected for generations to come.

Jeff Sim, Head of Nature Reserves and species Recovery, said: “It has been more difficult than usual for us to fundraise, as many of the larger grant funders for land acquisition were not available due to Covid-19, therefore the reserve was purchased almost entirely due to local goodwill, individual donations and through charitable trusts. We have many people to thank, such as our Leek local group who carried out much of the early fundraising to secure the future of Gun Moor. We can’t thank everyone enough who has been kind enough to donate.

“It is a hugely important piece of land full of iconic species which need protecting.

“The site is close to our Roaches nature reserve. The habitat Gun Moor contains is what makes the Peak District Moors of international significance, so it is really important that the Trust was able to purchase and protect it.”