Barkbooth Lot Nature Reserve
| The Reserve Barkbooth Lot was given to Cumbria Wildlife Trust in 1975. Its name may refer to oak bark which was a product that was in great demand for the eighteenth century leather tanning industry. This tells us that the area was already woodland at this time. However, Barkbooth has been subject to continual grazing since the early twentieth century and sadly only a few native trees remain. The reserve is now a habitat based upon rough grassland and scrub with wetland areas including a tarn and a small reservoir. The reserve is particularly rich in invertebrate species: In spring, bracken litter heats up at a faster rate than the surrounding grassland and this assists with the development of fritillary caterpillars which are laid on the bracken by their parents and feed exclusively on violets! Damsel and dragonflies are common around the reservoir and the tarn. Barkbooth is also home to two especially rare species: the medicinal leech and the glow worm. The Project Gaps in the reserve boundary wall were repaired in 2005, despite this the whole wall is now extremely fragile as it was built out of shale which has weathered poorly and crumbled away. In order to protect the reserve from the incursions of livestock and red deer, Cumbria Wildlife Trust need to install a 'breast wire' on two sides of the perimeter to stop animals rubbing against the wall and knocking stones off.
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