Campaigners step closer to securing Calderdale's Bridestones Moor
A wild moorland standing sentry over Todmorden is set to become Calderdale's first community-owned nature reserve as contracts are exchanged.
Bridestones Moor, put up for sale earlier this year, is a 114-acre site home to species such as curlew, short-eared owl and red grouse.
Now after a crowdfunding campaign raised over £76,000, and with the backing of philanthropic loans, a major milestone is marked.
Conservations have exchanged on contracts, moving a step closer to securing its future.
Anthony Arak, co-founder of Bridestones Rewilded, said: “Our mission is to preserve Bridestones Moor as a place where wildlife can thrive and people can connect with nature.
“Exchanging contracts marks a major milestone, but we still need the community’s support to complete the purchase and restore the moor.”
Bridestones Moor is renowned for its rock formations and rich biodiversity, having long stood as a cherished local landmark.
Bridestones Rewilded, forming a community interest company (CIC) aims to create Calderdale’s first community-owned nature reserve.
Their crowdfunding efforts have further bolstered by loans from environmental advocate Julia Davies and associates at We Have The Power.
This is a landscape celebrated not only for its natural heritage but also its cultural significance.
Folklore shares the story of its distinctive stones; resembling a bride and groom and lending the moor its evocative name.
Once, this was a place for druids and pagan worship or ceremonies. Today, with a web of footpaths crossing the land, it is popular with 'boulderers' and climbers.
Alive with wildlife such as curlew, lapwing, golden plover or red grouse, it is hoped to help return the site to nature.
The Bridestone itself, said Dr Arak, must be one of the most photographed in Yorkshire.
The site recently featured on Channel 5’s Yorkshire Great and Small, and the campaign to save it was highlighted earlier this year by The Yorkshire Post.
The project’s vision extends now beyond protecting wildlife, but aims to revitalise carbon-rich peatlands, ancient grassland and heathland.
Conservationists include a botanist and micrologist, a wildlife photographer and social worker, ornithologist, ecologist and expert on wetland birds. Dr Arak himself comes from a zoology background.
“The initiative has already attracted strong support from the local community,” he said.
"There is growing recognition of how crucial moors are – not just for the species they shelter, but for absorbing carbon and reducing flood risk.
"By securing Bridestones Moor under community ownership, we can protect these vital services while ensuring the moorland can be enjoyed by everyone.”
To back the campaign visit crowdfunder.co.uk or bridestones.love.