Delamere Forest: Old Pale Heights and Blakemere Moss

Delamere — 'forest of the lakes' — is what is left of the great Forests of Mara and Mondrem that once covered this part of Cheshire, held under forest law for centuries until the Crown took ownership in 1812 and the old ordinances were abolished; the Forestry Commission took it over in 1924. At 972 hectares it is the largest woodland in the county, with about 750,000 visitors a year. Old Pale is the high point of the northern end of the Mid Cheshire Ridge; Blakemere Moss is a lake about a kilometre long in the middle of the trees; and Black Lake is a rare quaking bog, a schwingmoor, protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of a Ramsar site, where the white-faced darter, a dragonfly rare in Britain, is found.