Mere Sands Wood

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Mere Sands Wood
A lake, with heavily wooded shores.
The main lake
Mere Sands Wood is located in the Borough of West Lancashire
Mere Sands Wood
Location in West Lancashire
Coordinates53°38′08″N 2°50′14″W / 53.635491°N 2.83709°W / 53.635491; -2.83709Coordinates: 53°38′08″N 2°50′14″W / 53.635491°N 2.83709°W / 53.635491; -2.83709
Created1982 (1982)
Operated byWildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside
StatusSSSI
WebsiteOfficial site

Mere Sands Wood is a 105 acres (42 ha) nature reserve between the villages of Holmeswood and Rufford in west Lancashire, England, managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. It lies about five miles from Ormskirk. The name derives from when the area was on the shore of Martin Mere.

Nature reserve[]

Situated near Rufford, Lancashire,[1] the reserve comprises lakes, mature broadleaved and conifer woodland, sandy, wet meadows and heaths,[2] standing on layers of sand and peat, deposited over boulder clay during the last Ice Age.[2] It covers 105 acres (42 ha), and includes a visitors centre, two nature trails, six wildlife hides, and one viewing platform.[1]

Wildlife[]

The reserve is visited by over 170 species of birds, 60 of which have bred there. There are also regular sightings of roe deer, stoats and foxes,[2] a total of 17 species of mammals within the area[3] including a small population of red squirrels. Fifteen species of dragonfly can be found at the reserve, ten of which have bred there.[1] The woodland consists mainly of birch and oak trees with a Scots Pine plantation, where the red squirrels reside.[4] There also 200 species of fungi found at Mere Sands.[3]

History[]

Mere Sands was originally part of the Martin Mere lake, which has Authurian links. The lake had been 15 miles (24 km) in circumference around that time. Between Anglo-saxon times and the late 1800s, the area included a fishery which stocked eels as well as fresh water fish.[5] Between 1974 and 1982 the sand was quarried for use in glass-making.[2] Under a planning agreement, the site was landscaped into a nature reserve once the extraction was completed.[2] The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside acquired the site in 1982 and the reserves was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its geological interest in 1985.[2] Each year, tens of thousands of visitors are attracted to the site. In March 2020, one of the long standing hides, dedicated to was burnt down in an arson attack.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Lancashire Wildlife Trust's, Mere Sands Wood, Rufford, Lancashire". RSPB. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mere Sands Wood". The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  3. ^ a b "LWT Mere Sands Wood". Discover Ormskirk. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Mere Sands Wood". The Guide to Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire and the Wirral. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  5. ^ Freethy, Ron (5 August 2013). "Walk: Mere Sands Wood". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  6. ^ Lopez, Jamie (2 March 2020). "Investigation underway after Mere Sands Wood nature reserve hit by fire". Lancs Live. Retrieved 16 March 2020.

External links[]

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