A walk across Flanders Moss

Start of the walk at Moss-side

The community were examining the opportunities to extend the local path network and I offered to investigate the routes to the west towards Flanders Moss. I have always had a notion to walk across Flanders Moss, the largest raised bog in Britain. I cycled to Moss-side and asked Kate if it was possible to walk across her land to reach the Nature Reserve. It was two or three kilometres via a circuitous route to the viewing tower at the Flanders Moss National Nature Reserve. The SNH sometimes guide students across by this route but it lacks any obvious paths.

It was a cool cloudy afternoon but the rain seemed unlikely. Kate came part of the way with me to point out features that would guide me across: old viewing towers, gates, trees and dykes. It took about half an hour with quite a few sections where I was balancing on clumps of heather and teetering on falling into the surrounding bog. I disturbed a couple of deer lying in the long grass by the field boundaries, a herd of Shetland cattle were grazing on the organic pastures and a flock of geese flew over in a V-shaped formation, do they know that autumn will be early?

I wobbled my way back across the bog and was met by Kate and her dog. She explained how SNH had removed the birch trees on the bog and the damage to the bog incurred by the peat extraction until the 1990s. This included the construction of dykes to drain the bog. I had hoped to identify a possible route across the east end of the Moss to reach the planned footpath along the old railway line but it would require at least a kilometre of boardwalks to make a safe passage.

Improved organic  pasture

Young deer disturbed in the long grass

Looking south to sentry box and Campsies

Dyke left from peat workings

Approaching the SNH looking tower

West view

North to Ben Ledi

Northeast across Poldar Moss