NORTHUMBERLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: The Border Mires are located over a wide area, many of them within the Northumberland National Park.
OS Map: Various (Various)
The Border Mires is the name given to a collection of peat bog sites in, and adjacent to, Kielder Forest of which eighteen are NWT nature reserves, including Falstone Moss and Bellcrag Flow.
Location and access: Access to many of the sites is difficult due to their remote location and often requires a long walk over difficult and boggy terrain. Falstone Moss is the only easily accessible site. If you would like information on any of the others, please contact the Trust.
Active blanket mire is an endangered habitat in Europe. The bogs, or mires, are built up of partially decayed bog plants, in particular the Sphagnum mosses. Bogs support many unusual species of plants and animals such as the carnivorous sundew plant and the rare large heath butterfly. Management work over recent years has included the removal of conifer trees from the bog surface and around the sites, and the blocking of drainage ditches. Originally, wooden dams were used on the ditches, but plastic piling is now used for most damming work. A European LIFE funded project has seen the removal of 200 hectares of trees and over 3500 dams installed. Work on the Border Mires is carried out in partnership with Forest Enterprise, English Nature, Newcastle University and Northumberland National Park Authority. Many of the sites have conservation designations, including SAC, Ramsar and SSSI.