STEEL HEATH

This is a surviving snippet of the wild boggy heathland that much of North Shropshire used to be. Lying as it does in a soggy hollow, this patch of ground is an agriculturally unattractive proposition, so has escaped cultivation.

Grazing would, traditionally, have kept the bushes within a bite of the ground, but the practicalities of keeping animals on the heath, crossed as it is by two busy roads, have defeated this ideal management system and trees are claiming back the heath.

Bog asphodel and bog rosemary are found in some of the wetter areas. Look out for brimstone butterflies; alder buckthorn bushes provide the must-have food for its caterpillars.

Keep your eyes peeled for lizards on hot summer days.