Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve

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Overview

At Westhay Moor NNR, north of the village of Westhay, restored peat diggings have been transformed into a network of open water and reed beds, making it one of the top birdwatching locations in Britain. It also has the largest surviving fragment of lowland acid mire in the South West. In summer metallic dragon and damselflies like the banded-demoiselle dragonfly dance among the reeds, and carnivorous sundew plants spread across the lush wetlands. You may also see some of the breeding populations of hobby and reed warbler. In winter birds from all over northern and eastern Europe, including goldeneye, goosander and little grebe, flock to the reserve for its lakes and reed beds. If you’re up early enough you might catch a glimpse of an otter family travelling the waterways that criss-cross the marshes, a water vole burrowing in the dank ditches, or a bittern booming in the reed beds. Every winter the skies over the Avalon Marshes turn black as they fill with millions of starlings arriving to roost among the reed beds.

Location

Mudgley

About the area

Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.