Improving access and interpretation at an internationally important peatland
Site
The Resource
Western Europe's finest raised bog
Flanders Moss National Nature Reserve
(NNR) is one of the largest areas of relatively undisturbed
lowland raised bog in the European Community. Because of its
natural heritage importance, it has been designated a European
Special Area of
Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSI). Quite simply, it is probably
the biggest and best remaining raised bog in Western Europe. It
is one of the last remaining natural landscapes in Scotland and
is home to many plants, insects and birds. It also tells
a fascinating story of the social and cultural history of
people living in this part of Scotland. There is much to
interest people.
What the site has to offer
- Natural features: layers of peat that relate as a timeline to sea level changes (including Scotland's last tsunami) and past glaciation. Superb lowland raised bog and associated species
- Human history, from more than 6,000 years ago onwards, including a Neolithic hunting platform and butchered whale. Clearance of deep peat in past to create farmland and previous uses of bog mosses and plants
- Anticipation - local people are likely to have heard of Flanders Moss and will know that it is a bog but few will have visited the site and many don't know what to expect. The site is well known and has a reputation.
- Viewpoints (proposed) - being a flat site Flanders only reveals some of its interest when the visitor can look down on the site from surrounding viewpoints or a viewing tower.
- Walking trails (proposed) - Flanders has a special feel about it; a wilderness that has changed little over thousands of years.
- Indoor venue at West Moss-side Farm for class-room based activities.
Click on picture for larger image.
Staff resource
Scottish Natural Heritage staff can be used to help with connecting people with the peatland heritage at Flanders Moss. It is hoped that the access facilities could be used by others stakeholders for their own events and activities, for example Scottish Wildlife Trust members and Stirling Council rangers.
The aim
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) manages the site and wants to place a much greater emphasis on promoting public understanding and appreciation of NNRs. This means giving people opportunities to visit these special places and helping people to understand and enjoy them to the full.
The potential
Flanders Moss has a unique range of specialist wildlife and connections with much of Scotland's natural, social and cultural history. As a visitor attraction there is much to interest people.It is close to the densely populated central belt and with its large size it has the carrying capacity to offer an ideal opportunity to get people onto a bog site.
Scottish Natural Heritage has spent the last 15 years putting a lot of effort into repairing and restoring the damage to the moss and these efforts have increased awareness and a curiosity about the bog. It therefore seems an ideal time to reconnect people to Flanders Moss by looking at ways of allowing people access to the bog.