New flowers planted at Buxton railway station to attract rare bumblebee

The elusive bilberry bumblebee, bombus monticola, is native to the High Peak but is rarely seen away from more remote moorland areas.

However, a newly-formed partnership between several community groups and railway stations across the Peak District aims to change all that.

‘Buzzing Stations’ is the name of a new collaborative project, including station friends groups from Buxton, Glossop and Hadfield, working together with The

Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Northern Trains Limited, The Peak District National Park Authority and The High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership.

Each station has agreed to do something different to help the bees and here in Buxton, they are bringing moorland plants into town.

Chairman of the Friends of Buxton Station, Dave Carlisle, said: “We are very lucky to have these special bumblebees on our doorstep – they are native to our area and we occasionally see them in Buxton.

"Our project aims to help them survive and thrive in town before spreading their wings and flying further afield.

"They have a restricted diet that includes bilberry flowers, heather, clover and bird’s foot trefoil, so we will grow the rights plants to feed them throughout the whole year.

“We have built up a planter unit from old recycled railway sleepers and will fill it with their favourite plants.”

Referring to the new planter unit as the ‘Bumblebee Express’, Dave stressed that it is primarily intended to be a home and restaurant for local bumblebees. It will also serve all sorts of other insects and invertebrates.

He said: “The ‘Bumblebee Express’ will support nature and the cheery plants provide a welcoming friendly environment for rail users.

“We’re proud that we managed to get it built under lockdown conditions and give the bees the help they need.

"We plan to carry out lots of related activities as the Covid-19 restrictions continue to ease.”