Moss is the local name for an area that’s wet or peaty or both, and although most have been drained and only survive in road and place names, some survive as nature reserves.

Some mosses form where hollows fill with sphagnum moss, creating a floating mat over deep water (known as a Schwing bog – and quite dangerous). Others are raised peat mosses on originally level sites, and these have been exploited by peat workings, past and present.

Lindow Moss near Wilmslow is a famous example, where ancient Lindow Man was found buried in the peat.

See other pages in this section: The salt industry, The Macclesfield Canal, The Shropshire Union Canal and The Trent and Mersey Canal

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