Lapwings, landscapes and battles with stubborn fences11 August, 2026 10 August, 2026 Nature Recovery Development Manager, Keith Tomkins has been right in the thick of converting Ughill into a sustainable, climate resilient farm. During this period of prolonged dry weather, he’s seeing great results from some of the farming methods we are testing. “Our wetland area is stunning, we still have six ponds, three scrapes and all stretches of streams with water. I doubt there is an upland farm in this part of the Dark Peak to rival it. The wet areas are full of birds, white butterflies, damsel and dragonflies. Where the rest of the valley is dry and parched we have green bits and water for cattle to drink, an idea of how a climate resilient upland farm might function.” What first made you fall in love with Ughill Farm? Wendy and I only discovered this part of the Peak District when we moved here so that I could help the Wildlife Trust deliver the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership. Ughill sits at the heart of an almost forgotten part of the Peak District, those people we’ve met who love to walk or cycle the quiet lanes and footpaths consider it ‘their secret’. Some days you can be up there and only see 4 or 5 pair of walkers and cyclists and barely a car or tractor. Being able to manage a small piece of this tranquillity is a pleasure. What surprises people most when they visit? Just how wildlife rich Ughill is. To be honest we didn’t know ourselves how diverse it was, on my initial walk through on a January day it seemed quite a bleak location, but now we know it well we know just how rich in natural history it is.Sixteen species of cranefly and counting for instance! Increasingly though, people who are on return visits are commenting on just how much work the Wildlife Trust has achieved, more trees, more water, more wildlife. Which species are you most excited to see returning? It’s not so much wildlife returning but seeing it thrive. I think it’d be seeing the lapwings coming together to set up their territories around the fields we have re-wetted, it’s like they are saying “Cheers for this”. When the lapwings come together to set up their territories around fields we have re-wetted, it’s like they are saying “Cheers for this”! What does nature recovery actually look like on the ground? I think we need to be realistic in our expectations for a single site such as Ughill, we can only achieve so much for nature in 130 hectares. What we aim to achieve at Ughill is to see and share ways of doing things in the farmed environment which will benefit wildlife, if we can influence others by sharing what we learn then then repercussions for wildlife could be across the landscape. But this is really difficult, we have to challenge so much received wisdom even down to questioning when one conservation tool such as landscape character might need to be re-thought. Nature recovery will need to look very brave if we are going to achieve it. What’s the muddiest or most chaotic day you’ve had working there? © Keith Tomkins covered in mud ater a hard day taking out old fencing at Ughill Farm Covered in mud after removing old fencing. Keith said “I now know why so many old fences are just left to rot!“ Post navigation Older “Nature needs all kinds of people”