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 Mosses Trails
The three interlinking circular trails contrast the rainwater-fed open wilderness of Fenn’s, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses NNR with the lush groundwater-loving carr woodland along the popular Llangollen Canal and the shelter of butterfly-rich glades with the open views of pasture and hills from the canal towpath. In a joint venture between English Nature, the Countryside Council for Wales and British Waterways, the three trails start from either Morris’s Bridge (SJ 493355) or the Marl Allotment at Roundthorn Bridge (SJ 501357) on the canal. They link to the Manor House NNR Base, Whixall, and Fenn’s Old Works on the disused railway line in Bronington. The trails range from 2 km to 4 km long and can be combined to create longer walks of up to 7 km. The routes, marked by a series of arrowed posts, are easy to walk.

A very simple access is South along the canal towpath from the canal bridge in Bettisfield towards Whitchurch and then by well signposted circular walks from the canal. But do take care the Mosses are dangerous off the paths.