About the reserve

Holcroft Moss is a SSSI designated lowland raised bog and is thought to be the only known example in Cheshire that has never been cut for peat. 

Commercial peat extraction from the bog’s immediate surroundings has however lowered the water table, and this subsequently damaged the hydrology of Holcroft Moss.  The Cheshire Wildlife Trust began work in restoring the bog’s ability to hold water by inserting sheets of plastic piling around the perimeter of the site.  Other forms of management include the sensitive grazing of the Trust’s Hebridean sheep, which help control the invasion of woody species and also restricts the dominance of purple moor grass. 

Notable species found on Holcroft Moss include cross-leaved heath, cranberry, cottongrass and six species of sphagnum moss.  During the summertime the bog is a favoured breeding and feeding site of yellowhammer – a UK BAP species, and is home to a small population of common lizard.