It is possible that Mesolithic hunting camps existed on the moors but evidence is rare. The area was then covered by forest which Neolithic and Bronze Age settlers began to clear. More forest was cleared by the Anglo-Saxons… See more

The underlying geology is the Millstone Grit series with sandstones and coarse gritstones separated by bands of shale. The area was covered by ice during the Ice Age and boulder clay deposited as the ice retreated. T… See more