A Journey through Shropshire

Thick ice sheets up to 300 metres high covered the North Shropshire plain 15,000 years ago. As the ice sheets slowly moved, they scraped out hollows in the landscape. Some of these hollows filled with water and became known as 'meres', others became peat bogs which are known as 'mosses'.

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Dried peat 'turves' have been used for centuries as fuel and animal bedding, but most peat is now used for potting plants. Large scale mechanical cutting of peat was stopped in 1990 at Whixall Moss, but some hand cutting continues. These turves have been cut by hand and stacked for drying.

Whixall Moss is the last place we visit during this journey, before the route goes up through Cheshire, on to Chester.