How TV gardener Geoff Hamilton fought to protect this Yorkshire Dales limestone pavement

The photo shows a bold Spring sky over the Winskill Stones Nature Reserve, as the evening light falls.

The reserve, which sits above the village of Stainforth in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is home to rather an impressive stretch of limestone pavement, offering views towards Yorkshire’s three peaks of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent.

The site is now under the ownership of British conservation charity Plantlife, which bought Winskill with the help of a public appeal.

The place has a special connection to much-loved writer and TV gardener Geoff Hamilton.

Though there was also grant support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Plantlife dedicated the reserve to Hamilton’s memory.

As well as the variety of plants in and around the limestone pavement itself, the reserve’s large area of limestone pasture also supports a range of species, including cowslip, early-purple orchid, mountain pansy and carline thistle.

The area as a whole is popular among photographers, with its breathtaking views and solitary tree, captured in this image too.

In total, the reserve is 74 acres in size and there are areas of rubble where sections of the pavement have been removed. Plantlife said it bought the land to support the local community to protect what remains.

“Limestone pavement is one of Britain’s most threatened habitats,” it says. “Vast areas have been destroyed since the 1950s to meet the demand for garden rockery stone.”

Photograph technical details: Nikon D4, 24-70mm Nikkor, 100th sec @f7.1, 400iso.

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