Majestic marsh harriers, booming bitterns, playful otters and bearded tits draw more than 100,000 visitors to the RSPB’s Leighton Moss nature reserve every year. And BBC 2’s Autumnwatch programme has beamed images of its rare wetland habitat habitat into the homes of millions more British nature lovers. Now with photos, anecdotes and expert testimony Andy Denwood goes behind the reed-beds to chart the history of the modern reserve.
“This book celebrates a fabulous jewel in the beautiful North West, a treasure which should be admired, studied and conserved without compromise. Read it, visit, love it and look after it.”
-Chris Packham
Delving back more than 6,000 years, he shows how the Moss has fed hungry families and provided sport for wealthy ones; how it yielded wood and peat for homes and industry. And how it was drained in the nineteenth century to become one of the most fertile and productive cereal-growing areas in Lancashire. Only an accident of history at the end of the First World War restored its wetland status.
Small Reserve. Precious Habitat. Fascinating History
This place, where the woods meet the water, has been magnetically attractive to man and wildlife from ancient times. Today the 320-acre nature reserve boasts the largest reed-beds in North West England and provides a home to 85 breeding species of bird, 30 types of mammal, 35 species of butterfly, 500 of moth, and seven sorts of fish.
REVIEWS
“In this fascinating book, Andy Denwood takes us back 6,000 years to when the remarkable reedbed was first formed. He tells the story of its evolution, including how it was restored to its natural glory after the Great War to become of the most celebrated nature reserves in England.” – Allan Tunningley, Lancashire Telegraph
“The 6000 years he covers helps one to realise how important this area has been… from Mesolithic hut to RSPB visitor centre, successive generations have made their living and kept their mark.” – Sheila May, Editor of Keer to Kent magazine
“As a frequent visitor to Leighton Moss, it was extremely interesting to learn about the history of the site. Would recommend.” – An Amazon user