Above: This sign says the larch will be replaced with trees that aren’t affected by the disease.
The road between Errwood Hall car park and Derbyshire Bridge has been closed to allow Forestry England to remove large numbers of larch trees that have been affected by ramorum disease. The notices say it will reopen on December 1st 2022, or earlier depending on how quickly they can complete the felling.
The work seems to be concentrated at Goytsclough with large lorries caking the road in mud. The lane is still open to pedestrians, but I haven’t seen any notices about cyclists.
Large swathes of larch were felled back in 2020 and 2021 because of another disease; phytoffra (click for details). This led to the cutting down of many of the rhododendron which surround the ruins of Errwood Hall, which I thought was a great shame (click for details).
Forestry England has posted information about ramorum here. It sounds very similar to phytoffra, and may even be another name for the same disease as far as I know. Click any of the panels below to enlarge and read details of why the work is being carried out, and what visitors can do to help.
Last time I rode up there on my bike, there was red tape right across the road. I had previously ridden up on my bike, but it was quite muddy. Now it is taped off, I am pretty sure cycling is being actively discouraged, if not prohibited.