Within the Great Manchester Wetlands (GM Wetlands) there are a number of distinctive Character Areas, which together were focussed on within our 2017-2022 Carbon Landscape project, as well as a variety of other high quality sites and opportunity areas. While wetlands are a characteristic of the area, some sites are prized also for their grassland or woodland value. Many sites in the GM Wetlands area are recognised with special nature designations.

Flashes

The construction of the Leeds Liverpool Canal and its linkage to the Bridgewater Canal in 1820 transformed the Wigan area during the Industrial Revolution. This enabled coal to be more easily exported from the Wigan and Leigh area to the major industrial cities, and collieries flourished along its route, later being connected by railways. The later 20^th century closure and collapse of mines meant that the massive areas of underground colliery workings were subject to large-scale subsidence and the formation of large open water bodies known as the Flashes. There are also large former spoil heaps across Wigan and Leigh which have been levelled and/or revegetated and now form an important habitat for nature. 

The regeneration of natural habitats since the end of the industrial era in our region, through the concerted efforts of many organisations, but notably Wigan Council, has been astonishing and the area reached the milestone of being declared as The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 2022. National Nature Reserves were established to protect some of our most important habitats, species and geology, and to provide ‘outdoor laboratories’ for research and public engagement. 

Peatlands

From Iron Age times the lowland raised bogs (or mosses/mosslands) west of Manchester were regarded as dangerous wildernesses with deep dark pools of acidic water, treacherous areas of boggy ground, mists and fogs and were the haunt of wild animals. 

Into the 19th century the mosslands’ resources became more accessible following the construction of the Liverpool to Manchester railway and they started to be improved by the import of 'night soil' from the cities. This and widespread drainage supported reclamation for agriculture and other uses. The mosses were an important area for the production of market garden crops for the neighbouring cities. 

Peat had been extensively hand-cut for fuel in the past and this evolved into industrial scale milling and extraction for horticultural purposes in the area, for example at Chat Moss and Little Woolden Moss. The whole of Birchwood in Warrington, including the SSSI Risley Moss, was an ordnance bomb factory in the Second World War. 

Overall, 97 per cent of UK mosses have been destroyed, however, they now hold the key to our future.  A healthy peatland will not only provide a key habitat for endangered and rare species but can soak up and store huge amounts of carbon.  Peatlands only cover 3 per cent of the world’s surface but they store 30 per cent of global soil carbon - twice as much carbon as all of the forests in the world. They also reduce the risk of flooding by helping hold back water during periods of high rainfall and gradually releasing it over time. 

Partnership working across the mosslands of GM Wetlands to restore and expand the peatland network has been accelerated in recent years taking advantage of growing awareness and support for this crucial natural resource. This has culminated with the 2025 declaration of the Risley, Holcroft and Chat Moss National Nature Reserve.  

Learn more about our work restoring our precious peatlands  

Mersey Corridor

At only 70 miles the Mersey is a short, but highly significant river. The Mersey joins the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam over a foaming lock and resumes its separate journey at Woolston. The course of the River Mersey has been adapted and altered considerably to allow navigation and for agricultural drainage. 

Pollution had a dramatic impact on most of the wildlife but after two decades of concentrated effort to improve water quality, the river has made a miraculous recovery. Perhaps what was the most polluted estuary in Europe now has at least 50 fish species, with salmon the most iconic amongst them. 

The Mersey Corridor contains iconic wetland sites like Rixton Clay Pits SSSI/SAC with its network of ponds and Woolston Eyes SSSI, a series of managed wetlands attracting a vast variety of species, some incredibly rare. Paddington meadows, an important grassland site in a bend of the river, is well loved by local communities as are places such as Woolston Park.