Lindow Moss is set to star in a film highlighting its history and the threats it faces.
Saltersley Common Preservation Society (SCPS) is to produce a short film, which will be posted on YouTube, detailing the rich history of the Moss and explaining serious issues that the continued peat extraction pose.
The Moss, known locally as "Lindow Peat Bog" or "Saltersley Common", has a story dating back to the Ice Age when the glaciers were melting the gravel sand and clay was carried from the Pennines and deposited on the Cheshire Plains.
It became a raised mire peat bog – looming over the surrounding landscape and at its peak extended to 1500 acres. Only 150 acres remain as suburban sprawl and peat extraction has taken its toll.
In 1984 it gained international stardom with the discovery of the preserved body of a 1st century AD "Lindow Man" by peat diggers. The body is now on display at the British Museum in London having last made a visit to Manchester Museum in 2009.
The bog has seen intensive peat extraction over the past 30 years, latterly by Croghan Peat Industries of Meare in Somerset. This low-grade peat is transported to Somerset for mixing into grow-bag products. There are concerns as to the effect on the habitat of the rare and legally protected Water Vole ("Ratty" in Wind in the Willows) as well as the local water table level.
Croghan Peat, who hold peat extraction rights at Lindow until approximately 2042, were prosecuted in August 2005 and fined £700 plus legal fees of £5175 for breaching an order that forbids digging in established drains and ditches (which are the habits used by Water Voles).
The film, to be shot in November, will feature contributions from Tony Evans, Honoury Secretary of SCPS, as well as Matthew Hyde and Christine Pemberton – authors of Lindow and the Bog Warriors (Rex Publishing 2002).
Tony said: "This historic site is being dissected by the on-going peat extraction as anyone walking in the area will see.
'Our local MP, George Osborne, has noted our concerns and written to Cheshire East Council and DEFRA seeking answers relating to protection of the Water Vole population and adherence to the planning conditions served on Croghan Peat in 2003 which included provision of a sluice gate. We are currently studying their response."
For more information on Lindow Moss, the preservation campaign and details of how to join the Saltersley Common Preservation Society please visit www.lindowmoss.org.uk or email [email protected].
Photo: Lindow Moss c. 2007 by Stephan Vaughan.
