Black Rocks 'Deep Clean'

Derwent Mountaineering Club (DMC) members ‘ascended’ on Black Rocks in force on the 14th of November, armed with slightly different gear to normal. Along with their climbing equipment, the DMC brought litter pickers, bin bags and cleaning rags ready for the annual ‘deep clean’.

Conveniently located near Cromford and with plentiful walks and climbing routes, Black Rocks is a popular landmark amongst locals and a tourist attraction for those visiting the Dales. Unfortunately, some visitors leave more than just footprints and a profuse amount of litter is thrown down the gritstone gullies.

In total, the volunteers collected 21 bags of litter containing a mixture of beer bottles (mainly Budweiser) as well as cider tins (mostly fruity Strongbow) and of course the classic offender, single-use plastic bottles (Pepsi, bottled water, etc).

Although the club collected fewer bags than the previous year (30 bags) and 2019 (24), there seemed to be a higher number of glass bottles thrown off the top of the rocks. We need better ways of educating people on the impacts that litter has on the environment and how to take care of our cherished National Parks.

The 20 volunteers consisted of mainly club members along with 3 people from green peace, a local climbing guide and the ranger from Forrest England.

We call it the ‘deep clean’ because it’s only us, a Mountaineering Club, who can get into ‘scrub’ the gullies as well of course as scouring the surrounding area.

Thank you to everyone who gave up half a day for this clean-up operation.