Borrowdale is home to England's largest temperate rainforest. Such is the importance of this "mysterious and untouched" landscape that it has now been declared a national nature reserve (NNR).
It's the latest landscape to become an NNR as part of the ‘King’s Series’, an initiative that is seeing five nature reserves created each year for next five years to celebrate the coronation of King Charles.
The National Trust, who manage the 721-hectare site, will be working with tenant farmers to reconnect habitats and build resilience to help tackle climate change.
Borrowdale National Nature Reserve comprises a range of habitats, including temperate rainforest and ancient woodland pastures. The valley regularly experiences the highest rainfall in England, making it as wet as a tropical rainforest but much cooler – the result is lush woodlands filled with mosses, ferns and lichens.
The ancient woodlands that rises up the slopes of the valley have remained undisturbed for centuries and as a result have become a refuge for rare species of lichen such as lungwort and mosses such as Hallers’s apple-moss. A number of vulnerable bird species, including the redstart, pied flycatcher and tree pipit also find a home here.
“Today, less than 1% of the land in the UK is covered by temperate rainforest," says Jane Saxon, General Manager for the North and West Lakes, National Trust, "and as such it’s particularly important to conserve this rare habitat for future generations."
Guy Shrubsole, author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain, says “it’s fantastic that Borrowdale’s amazing temperate rainforests are being declared a National Nature Reserve, in recognition of their great ecological significance.
“Like all of Britain’s temperate rainforests, the Atlantic oakwoods of Borrowdale remain fragmented and under pressure – so I very much hope this new declaration inspires farmers and landowners in the surrounding landscape to get involved in rainforest restoration, and benefit from some of the new government funding available for this.
“By reconnecting rainforest fragments, we can make these rare, beautiful habitats more resilient to the climate crisis, whilst also helping reduce flooding downstream.”
The National Trust says that traditional fell farming will play a key role in Borrowdale’s future. "By working with our local farmers and community, we are looking forward to better connecting people with the woodlands, wider nature and history of Borrowdale.”
