Natural England

All over Europe, on the last Sunday in July, people will be visiting peatlands on International Bog Day, to see their wonderful boggy bio-diversity and to learn how crucial bogs are in helping to combat climate change. Fenn’s, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve near Wrexham and Whitchurch is a European Special Area of Conservation – so what better place to celebrate the Day?

On Sunday 27 July, everyone is invited to a guided tour of Whixall Moss, to try to spot some of the creatures highlighted on the wood-carving plaques along the Mosses Trails.

Locally the walk also marks the start of Meres and Mosses Month – a series of events in August highlighting Shropshire, Cheshire and Wrexham’s wonderful and unique wetland sites.

On all of the events at the Moss in August there will be a chance to have your photo taken with a life-size replica of one of the wooly mammoths which roamed the Meres and Mosses area 10,000 years ago, just before the wetlands began to form, www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/westmidlands/Events/nnr-shropshire.htm

The sculpture plaque walk will start at 1.00 pm on Sunday 27 July at Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales’ Manor House NNR Base, in Whixall (follow the white tourist signs). The event is being run by NNR Senior Reserve Manager Dr. Joan Daniels. Booking is recommended.

The event will go ahead whatever the weather. If it is fine, everyone will go on a 3.25 miles (5.5km) walk following the Mosses Trails, stopping at the sculpture plaque locations to look for , be shown pictures of and hear about the wildlife shown on them. The return will be across the wild restored centre of the Moss, getting back by about 4.30pm. If the weather is poor, following an introduction in workshop, a shorter walk will be followed by an indoor slideshow showing the creatures of the plaques and their needs.

Natural England’s Site Manager Joan Daniels said “Volunteers from the British Woodcarvers Association have carved us some beautiful oak plaques which have been placed along our self-guided Mosses Trails, to show the wonderful wildlife of this raised bog, which is the third largest in Britain.”

Each of the ten sculpture plaques along the Trails is set in the habitat of the creature it shows. They include the creatures of the wet mossland which has restored by Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales such as the rare white-faced darter, curlew, hobby, snipe and raft spider which are thriving now the Moss is rewetted. Other plaques show creatures of heathier areas such as short-eared owl and adder, and those of drier scrub and woodland edge which is being kept around the edge of the Moss, such as the beautiful yellow brimstone butterfly.

Volunteer Rosa Ford is producing a further plaque of a water vole to add to the Trails and will be at the NNR Base at the beginning of the walk, demonstrating how the plaques are carved, and British Woodcarver Roger Brayford is carving a replacement for the raft spider which unfortunately was stolen earlier this year.

The Mosses Trails are a series of three interlinking self-guided trails which start from the Morris’s Bridge NNR car park in Whixall (follow brown signs) and explore Fenn’s & Whixall Moss and the Llangollen canal, and are a joint venture by Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales and British Waterways.

To book and to get the instructions for the day please ring Caroline Evans on 01743 282000 in the week or Joan Daniels on 07974 784 799 evenings and weekends.

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Notes for editors

Natural England
Natural England was established by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Its purpose is to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development. www.naturalengland.org.uk

The Countryside Council for Wales
The Countryside Council for Wales champions the environment and landscapes of Wales and its coastal waters as sources of natural and cultural riches, as a foundation for economic and social activity, and as a place for leisure and learning opportunities. We aim to make the environment a valued part of everyone's life in Wales. More information about our work is available on www.ccw.gov.uk

For further CCW information/ Welsh language interviews, contact Meinir Wigley, Public Relations Officer on 01686 613416.

International Bog Day
International Bog Day is traditionally the last Sunday in July. It's been designed as an annual event to celebrate the beauty of bogs and to help conserve them. Bogs are beautiful, but becoming increasingly rare, due to increasing peat usage. www.wildlifetrusts.org

For further information contact: Dr. J L Daniels
Telephone: 01948 880362
Email: joan.daniels@naturalengland.org.uk

For further information about Natural England please visit: www.naturalengland.org.uk