MORE than 600 acres of fire-ravaged North Yorkshire moorland has been restored through £114,000 of conservation work spanning the two years since the blaze started.

Flames left a blackened scar across Fylingdales Moor the size of 500 football pitches after burning for six days as every fire appliance in the county was deployed to contain the blaze.
Teams of conservationists from the North York Moors National Park have now managed to ensure that the moorland has begun to return to its former beauty following a major restoration project.

Grass seed has been sown in a two-phase programme in the two years since the fire started on September 17, and heather and cotton grass have begun to flourish once again in the area.
The swift intervention of the conservationists ensured that soil erosion was kept to a minimum on the moorland above Ravenscar.

Landowner Sir Fred Strickland-Constable and his estate management team has been overseeing the restoration, working closely with the National Park Authority, English Heritage, English Nature and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

The fire destroyed about a tenth of the land which Sir Fred owns on the North York Moors.

Sir Fred, who lives in Haxby, near York, said: The damage from the fire was quite horrendous. It was heartbreaking to think of all the damage to the environment and the wildlife when I saw the blackened land afterwards.

"But the work of all the people involved has been absolutely amazing. Swift intervention has prevented soil erosion and moss invading the area affected, which would have made it all the more difficult for other plants to make a return."

The fire was the most serious blaze on the moors since 1976 and swept away heather covering a square mile of moorland at Fylingdales, burning down into the peat below.

Experts from English Heritage worked swiftly to survey the area, which is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

But the fire also offered archaeologists an unprecedented opportunity to view thousands of previously hidden artefacts and earthworks spanning 4,000 years of human life on the moors.

The most exciting discovery was a piece of carved sandstone more than 4,000 years old which archaeologists believe may be some kind of map.

It has international significance as, unlike other rock art from the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, the lines of carving are angular rather than curved, similar to designs more often found on pottery.

Inspector of Ancient Monuments for English Heritage, Neil Redfern, said: "The fire was so severe that not only the vegetation but also several inches of peat were burnt away.
"The stripping of this surface layer gave us a glimpse of the archaeology hidden on the moor including Second World War practice trenches and mysterious ditched enclosures which may date back to prehistoric times.

"Although we were fascinated by the information revealed, once it had been surveyed it was crucial to get the area rapidly re-vegetated in order to protect the vast number of features that had been discovered."

Ian Fletcher from Glaisdale was the main local contractor and battled against the winter elements on the exposed site harvesting and spreading grass and heather seed.
Rachel Pickering, the moorland project officer for the National Park Authority and English Nature, said: "Endless lessons have been learned from this project, but perhaps the most important is the need to reduce the risk of uncontrolled fires on all moorland.

"The Government's conservation body, English Nature, has now signed an agreement with the owner which includes reducing the risk of uncontrolled fires by cutting roadside heather and encouraging the maintenance of strategic fire breaks.

"Everyone can help by being vigilant and educating people not to light fires, have barbecues, drop cigarette butts or litter – especially glass."