Longshaw Estate

About Longshaw Estate

The ancient oaks of Padley Gorge , gnarled and twisting out of the moss-grown gritstone rocks, hold many of the secrets of Longshaw within their grasp. For 8000 years people have lived in close association with these trees and the wildlife they support, farming, trading, hunting and quarrying.

Criss-crossed by old trackways and packhorse trails, the Longshaw Estate is a mix of wet pasture and meadow, heather moorland and semi-natural ancient woodland. Its proximity to Sheffield and its wealth of natural resources mean that it has been, over the centuries, a centre for charcoal burning, millstone quarrying and woodland management as well as an important trading route for salt, silk , wool, and lead among other things.

Today the trackways provide solace and refuge for city dwellers escaping the confines and pressures of city life. Just a 10 minute drive from city streets and high rise buildings people can experience the open spaces of the gritstone moors, clean air and sparkling streams and glimpses of wildlife in the heart of quiet woodland gorges.

Longshaw is a haven for woodland wildlife; unusual hairy wood ants build huge dome-shaped nests in the shadows of the woods, nationally important populations of pied flycatchers arrive each spring to rear their young in the ancient oak trees and rare mosses and ferns cling to the rocky waterfalls and springs.