Fenns, Wixall and Bettisfield Mosses

Wildlife: Peatland plants, dragonflies and damselflies. A variety of breeding and over-wintering birds, including curlew, nightjar and short-eared owl.
Opening times: Open all year.
Access/Conditions: Wheelchair access to the towpath is available from Pont Morris’s and Roundthorn Bridge car parks. The Mosses are riddled with deep ditches please keep to the way-marked routes.
Facilities: There are a variety of pubs and small shops nearby.
How to get there: Follow the B5479 to Whixall.
Parking: Car parking is available at Pont Morris’s Bridge.
Grid ref: SJ 493 354

An important area for its series of meres (pools) and mosses, it is one of the most southerly lowland raised bogs in Britain and a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. Thirteen types of sphagnum moss flourish with other acid-loving plants, such as the insect-eating sundew, bladderwort and cranberry. It has 21 species of dragonfly and damselflies, including the white faced darter, and rare bog insects like the bog bush-cricket and raft spiders. Butterflies include the small pearl-bordered fritillary and the large heath butterfly. In spring the calls of breeding teal, mallard, curlew, skylark and meadow pipit fill the air.

The Llangollen Canal leaves the Shropshire Union Canal at Nantwich and climbs through the border of Wales towards the River Dee at Llangollen. It is 41 miles long and building started in 1793 in order to try to link the River Mersey with the River Severn. Today it is one of the most popular canals in the country with fascinating architecture including the spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - a Scheduled Ancient Monument.