Quaking Bogs and Biking in Delamere Forest
Delamere Forest today (Forestry Commission) is all that remains of a great Norman hunting forest (wild boar, and deer) which once covered much of Cheshire but what a terrific place to take off in and ‘let off steam’! There’s even a ‘Go-Ape’ course, largest in the UK, for those hardy with heights.
With no need to hire bicycles – we travel with ours on the roof of the car – we took off on a wide, well-laid trail encircling the lake or ‘mere’ or ‘moss’ as it’s called. The lake we were delighted to discover, Blakemere Moss, is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its wetland habitat.
Ever heard of a ‘schwingmoor’ better known as a quaking bog, one of the rarest habitats in the UK? Quaking bogs apparently form when sphagnum mosses begin to grow across the surface of acidic water, such as in this mere. They differ from raised bogs in that the peat forms a thin layer – sometimes only a metre thick – which floats on the water beneath it.
The sparkling, mushy, moss-filled gulleys around the shore edges (my ‘Art-Take’ of the afternoon) partially disguised with fallen winter bracken are haven to coots and moorhens, spotted… and what a racket on the open water from visiting gulls, and overwintering Canada Geese still in residence. We couldn’t find a ‘hide’ to spy a little closer…
But we’ll be back – in the early summer we hope – to enjoy, along with all else, the abundance of uncommon dragonflies and butterflies, easily spotted at that time of year. Perhaps we could catch a glimpse of the carnivorous, insect-eating (yum!) and beautifully coloured rare Sundew plant. Ever hopeful.
