Created 1982 (1982) Phone +44 1704 821809 | Website Official site | |
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Operated by Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Address Holmeswood Rd, Rufford, Ormskirk L40 1TG, UK Hours Open today · 9:30AM–4:30PMSunday9:30AM–4:30PMMondayClosedTuesday9:30AM–4:30PMWednesday9:30AM–4:30PMThursday9:30AM–4:30PMFriday9:30AM–4:30PMSaturday9:30AM–4:30PM Status Site of Special Scientific Interest Similar WWT Martin Mere, Martin Mere, Rufford Old Hall, Leighton Moss RSPB res, Warton Crag | ||
Lancashire wildlife trust mere sands wood
Mere Sands Wood is a 42 hectares (100 acres) nature reserve between the villages of Holmeswood and Rufford in west Lancashire, England, managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. It lies about five miles from Ormskirk. The name derives from when the area was on the shore of Martin Mere.
Contents
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. 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 Trust acquired the site in 1982 and the reserves was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its geological interest in 1985.