Gruffy is a dialect word little understood outside Somerset. It immediately brings a picture of uneven ground to a local’s mind. Gruffy ground is a feature of Somerset’s Mendip Hills. It’s a man-made landscape that Nature has reconquered.
The word gruffy comes from the now obsolete words gruff and gruffer, meaning mine and miner respectively. Gruffy describes land pock-marked by old mining activity. Open-cast mining goes back 2,000 years in the Mendip Hills. Mining evidence traces back to Iron Age and Roman times. The Mendip Hills have long been recognised for their rich minerals and especially limestone for construction work. The top of the Mendip Hills is sparsely populated and some land remains contaminated by past works. Gruffy ground creates a rich environment for wildlife.
Ubley Warren Nature Reserve is an example of a former mining site that Nature has long reclaimed. The old workings are covered by an uneven turf. As you walk, you may see the occasional darting tail of a rabbit. You may hear quick escape movements of lizards ahead of your step. Birds dart and hover overhead. Many butterfly species flutter in the undisturbed, wild landscape. The soil is too thin and rocky for agriculture, although cattle and sheep graze quietly as you pass by. Crouch down and you will find small plants in the limestone grassland, including nationally rare plants. Some plants are remarkably able to adapt to contaminated land.
The nearby Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve also has gruffy ground. There are even the remnants of a slag heap. It was here that I recently found Meadow Saffron, Colchicum autumnale, hidden in the long grass.
As a botanist, it is fascinating to note how plants and trees gradually take over former open-cast mines and disused quarries.
Gallery of Images
Carline Thistle, Carlina vulgaris, on disused quarry floor 
Nature reclaims a disused Somerset quarry
Gruffy ground at Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve, Cheddar. © Karen Andrews
References and Further Reading
- Benham, A. J. et al. (2005): Mineral Resource Information in Support of National, Regional and Local Planning: Somerset. British Geological Survey. Commissioned Report CR/04/214N.
- British Geological Survey (?): Minerals and Mines. Foundations of the Mendips.
- British Geological Survey (?): Geology and Biodiversity.
- British Geological Survey (2017): Flora and Fauna of the Mendip Hills.
- Evans, Roger (2005): Somerset Dictionary: A to M. Voices. BBC Somerset. 24 September 2014
- Russet, Vince (2015): Dialect Words from North Somerset. Version 2. YCCCART. July 2015.
- Somerset Wildlife (?): Cheddar Complex.
- Somerset Wildlife (?): Ubley Warren. Nature Reserves.
- The Wildlife Trusts, Somerset (?): GB Gruffy. Nature Reserves
Copyright Note
Karen does not seek or receive any commercial interest or advantage from this blog. She is not promoting any business venture. She simply loves to share fascinating facts about plants. These pages illustrate her love of plants, botany, biodiversity, gardens and creative expression. There is always so much to learn about plant diversity. This blog is designed as a showcase for photography, commentary on plants and wildlife, gardens and other places visited, horticulture and related topics. Viewpoints are her own, not those of her employer.
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