Berry nice

Calderdale Moorland Group

Our berries on the moor are starting to ripen up. This is a tasty treat for our wildlife and also ourselves.

You can tell the birds are feasting on them just now due to all the purple droppings around.

Bilberries are more intensely flavoured than blueberries, but they are also softer and juicier than blueberries which makes them difficult to transport.

Bilberry is a dwarf shrub which is an important component of the heather moorlands (or upland heathland habitat). Bilberry is also known as the whortleberry, blaeberry, whinberry or wimberry and has edible fruits. The plant grows to around 50cm tall, has acutely angled stems, pinkish-red flowers, bluish-black fruits and it loses its leaves in the winter.