04/02/2026
This foggy February morning would challenge anyone to find anything beautiful on Hogshaw.
The fog obscures the clutter of the built environment surrounding the site and yet the constant thrum of the traffic along Fairfield Road and the thump and churning of excavation work on the designated building site adjacent to Hogshaw, still manage to pe*****te the fog. I decided to make it a walking meditation to tune out the noise of the human world and tune in to the call of the jackdaw and robins and the sound of the babbling brook. Even on the most dismal of days, Hogshaw can provide welcome respite, to drown out the surrounding chaos.
Winter has removed natures dress coat to reveal the shabby undergarments of mud and general detritus. Hogshaw is claimed as much by people, as it is being reclaimed by nature. But it is in winter that the evidence of negative human impact on this area is all the more visible. From the historical past of railway sidings and remnants of decaying built structures, to the now more visible household and industrial waste that lies just beneath the surface from the old town tip. This history has left clear scars, which are a reminder of how we can devastate the natural world with our own thirst for “progress” or “growth”. The persistent thumping of heavy machinery on the adjacent Nunsfield Farm is a stark warning that we never learn from our mistakes, as we continue to create new scars, pushing nature into smaller and smaller pockets of land.
I’ve recently spent time litter picking on Hogshaw, which often feels like a futile task, as litter is continually, casually cast away across most areas of the site. I will not give up though as I know all too soon this litter will be covered by the new growth of Spring – but I’ll feel troubled to know it is still there. Hogshaw has proven itself to be a resilient place. This doesn’t mean that we can’t offer to find ways to help it to thrive as a valued community asset.
Abandoned bikes, abandoned dens, deserted bug hotel projects are all signs that this is a place that people interact with, sometimes in more positive ways than others. It’s a place that is used and useful, a place of community and a place of hope. Walking along the raised area replanted by Friends of Buxton Station there is a sense that people are willing to intervene to help nature and heal the land. Action for Hogshaw is our campaign that grows out of this very desire to protect and enhance this area, as our very own pocket of perfectly, imperfect nature on our doorstep. So even in foggy February there is beauty and inspiration to be found in this place.
