Coombs Dale

Coombs Dale is a steep-sided, dry carboniferous limestone valley in the Derbyshire Peak District of England. The village of Calver lies about 1 km to the east and the village of Stoney Middleton lies less than 1 km to the north. The dale is cut into the hills on the east side of Longstone Moor. The upper end of the dale is known as Rough Side. Several springs flow down the dale during winter and after heavy rains. The fossil-rich limestone was formed from deposits in a warm shallow sea in the Brigantian stage of the Carboniferous period (around 330 million years ago). Coombs Dale is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Ash trees and hazel grow on the scree slopes of the dale sides. Varied shrubs and wild flowers include dogwood, blackthorn, common rock-rose, wild thyme, bloody cranesbill, lily-of-the-valley, mountain melick, woolly thistle, maiden pink, leadwort, cowslip, rare dark-red helleborine and orchids. The local limestone fern Gymnocarpium robertianum thrives on the scree and the rare fingered sedge Carex digitata can be found in places. Grazed native grasses are mainly meadow oat-grass and glaucous sedge. The dale is also habitat for dark green fritillary and brown argus butterflies. Longstone Edge, above the south side of the dale, has been mined for minerals for many centuries. Lead mining heaps and beehive mine shafts are spread across the terrai

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