Black Rocks Deep Clean

The Derwent Mountaineering Club and Greenpeace turned out in force on Sunday 25th October to help clear litter at this popular beauty spot at Black Rocks near Cromford. Members assembled in friendship groups of 6, following strict Covid guidelines.

The area is a popular tourist attraction as there are some superb views from the top of Black Rocks, which overlooks Riber and Matlock Bath. Sadly, these huge gritstone rocks with their numerous gullies and crevices attract litter. Climbers, working in pairs, used ropes to clean out the otherwise inaccessible gullies.

Plastic in all its forms (particularly single use bottles) formed the majority of the waste but there were also lots of alcoholic glass bottles and tins (more I think than last year) and other stuff such as disposable BBQs. The oddest item found was an inflatable mattress (really?). What can we do to help change people’s attitude to our outdoor spaces?

There were 19 of us from the DMC joined by 3 people from Greenpeace Derby. Derbyshire Dales DC sent a truck to collect the waste. Following the clean up, which lasted 90 mins, we had a socially distanced pic-nic... it was lovely to see real people! Well done everyone.