On the upper valley slopes of Cressbrookdale the perennial Viola lutea can be found on what look like old mining spoil heaps and here it is yellow just as the name lutea suggests. In the corries of Ben Lawers it grows in profusion and is a deep blue colour adding so much to the yellow of the Saxifraga aizoides (Yellow Saxifrage), the pink of Silene acaulis (Moss Campion) and the light blue of Myosotis alpestris (Alpine Forget-me-not) . The northern Pennines are a habitat in which grows Viola lutea in a wide range of its colour forms from pure yellow to pure blue with all combinations between.

Viola lutea is found in the hills of wales, northern England and all over the highlands of Scotland but not in the far north and hardly at all in central and southern England. It is rare in Ireland with small colonies near the east and west coasts.

Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire 24th April 2011

Added on February 5th 2005, updated 24th February 2012