"My ambition was ... to turn the peat bog back into a growing peat bog. We've done it."
Bill Allmark, one of the last peat-cutters
The Meres and Mosses - pools of water and raised peat bogs - form a vast and strange landscape spilling across north Shropshire and into Cheshire, Staffordshire and Wales. Formed by glaciers retreating after the last ice-age, thousands of years of history lie trapped beneath their surface, from the stumps of long-drowned trees beneath the meres, to the bodies of long-buried men found perfectly preserved within the mossy bogs.
Unknown to many in the outside world, the meres and mosses are a wetland of international importance. While only a fragment of their former size, they are still home to many plants and insects that are rarely found elsewhere. These populations are fragile, however, as is the landscape they rely on. Shropshire Wildlife Trust is working with other organisations across this huge region to restore this fragmented wetland for both the wildlife and people that live there.
Visit Shropshire Wildlife Trust reserves in the Meres and Mosses
