Mere Sands Wood is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

between the villages of

Holmeswood Holmeswood is a small agricultural village in West Lancashire, in the north-west of England. It lies just north of the Martin Mere Wetland Centre and to the south of North Meols about six miles east of the Irish Sea coast at Southport. The vi ...

and Rufford in west

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. It lies about five miles from

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

. The name derives from when the area was on the shore of

Martin Mere Martin Mere is a Mere (lake), mere near Burscough, in Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around that was, until it was drained, the largest body of fresh water in England. History Martin Mere ...

Nature reserve

Situated near

Rufford, Lancashire Rufford is a village in West Lancashire, England, where the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway, the A59 road, A59 and the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas meet. Rufford is also a civil parish, which incl ...

, the reserve comprises lakes, mature broadleaved and conifer woodland, sandy, wet meadows and heaths, standing on layers of sand and peat, deposited over boulder clay during the last ice age. It covers , and includes a visitors centre, two nature trails, six wildlife hides, and one viewing platform.

Wildlife

The reserve is visited by over 170 species of birds, 60 of which have bred there. There are also regular sightings of roe deer, stoats and foxes, a total of 17 species of mammals within the area including a small population of

red squirrels The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...

. Fifteen species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

can be found at the reserve, ten of which have bred there. The woodland consists mainly of birch and oak trees with a Scots Pine plantation, where the red squirrels reside. There also 200 species of fungi found at Mere Sands.

History

Mere Sands was originally part of the

lake, which has Authurian links. The lake had been in circumference around that time. Between

Anglo-saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

times and the late 1800s, the area included a

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

which stocked eels as well as fresh water fish. Between 1974 and 1982 the sand was quarried for use in glass-making. Under a planning agreement, the site was landscaped into a nature reserve once the extraction was completed. The

Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside The Lancashire Wildlife Trust or Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is a wildlife trust covering the county of Lancashire and parts of Greater Manchester and Merseyside in England. It includes all of the ceremonial cou ...

acquired the site in 1982 and the reserves was designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) for its geological interest in 1985. Each year, tens of thousands of visitors are attracted to the site. In March 2020, one of the long standing hides, dedicated to

Cyril Gibbons Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...

was burnt down in an

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attack.

References

External links

Wildlife Trust page
{{authority control Lakes of Lancashire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of West Lancashire Nature reserves in Lancashire Rufford, Lancashire