August is the time to enjoy heather moorland in all its glory but it takes hard graft, planning and ingenuity to ensure that the Peak District retains its purple crown, as Deborah Vernon and Matthew Taylor discover.
ON THE EASTERN rim of the Peak District National Park, atop Over Owler Tor, rises an iconic rock formation called Mother Cap. It’s a short, uphill hike to reach and well worth the effort, particularly on a sunny August day when the surrounding landscape exudes the sumptuous colours of deep summer: azure sky, hillsides annointed improbable greens and heather-covered moorlands drenched in fifty shades of purple…