Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve
Fenn’s, Whixall, Bettisfield, Wem & Cadney Mosses Site of Special Scientific Interest, straddling the English/Welsh border near Whitchurch, is of international importance for wildlife. The Mosses are one of the most southerly lowland raised bogs in Britain and, at 948 hectares (2,340 acres), are the third largest.
Lowland raised bogs are slow-growing domes of Sphagnum bogmoss peat, fed only by rainwater. Bogmoss absorbs and acidifies the rain, water-logging the peat surface so only specialised plants and animals survive. Dying plants, together with pollen from vegetation on and around the bogs, become ‘pickled’ as layers of peat, forming giant storybooks of the last 12,000 years.
Raised bog plants and animals are now rare as so many bogs have been drained for peat cutting or for conversion to farmland or forestry. In ten years, commercial peat cutting for gardening or fuel can remove peat that took one thousand years to form.
The natural environment can be hazardous. Please:
- Keep to the way-marked routes. The Mosses are riddled with deep, flooded and partly vegetated ditches.
- Do not smoke on the Mosses at any time of the year. Even small fires can cause extensive damage.
- Watch out for adders. If bitten keep calm and seek medical attention.
- Do not collect plants or animals.
- Keep dogs on a lead from March to July, and otherwise at heel.
Highlights: Now 1,900 species of invertebrates thrive; large heath butterflies, white-faced darter dragonflies, bog bush-crickets and raft spiders, back from the brink of extinction, are spreading from their refuges in the old commercial and handcuttings. In spring, calls of breeding teal, mallard, curlew, skylark and meadow pipit fill the air, and yellow four-spot chasers dart. In summer sunshine, acrobatic hobby catch myriad dragonflies, and ‘churring’ nightjar hoover up dusk’s clouds of moths. Listen for the plop of water voles – don’t tread on basking adders!
Location and access: The reserve is 6.5 km south west of Whitchurch, 16 km south west of Wrexham, south of the A495 between Fenn's bank, Whixall and Bettisfield. There is roadside parking at entrances, and a large car park at Manor House.
Grid reference: SJ 493355
Tracks, accessed through squeeze gaps, are grassy or peaty and generally level. The firmer, flat canal towpath is accessible by ramp/path from the Morris's and Roundthorn Bridge car parks. Disabled people can drive along the level stony old railway line by arrangement.
Click here for more details.
Courtesy of English Nature.
These maps are intended as a guideline only; you must check the exact location of the reserve yourself. Wildlife Extra assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or usefulness of the information on this website.
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