Lindow Common
Lindow Commonis aSite of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI) on the western edge of the town ofWilmslow,Cheshire,in the northwest ofEngland.[1][2]It is also designated aLocal Nature Reserve.[3][4]
The Common was an area ofheathlandwhere, in centuries past, villagers could graze their cattle, but over the last century or so, birch trees have overrun many areas, so that much of the Common is covered by trees.
In the middle of Lindow Common lies the Black Lake. TheWelshfor Black Lake isllyn ddu,the derivation ofLindow.The name Lindow is also used for one of the historicparishesof Wilmslow, and of the adjacentLindow Moss,much of which is covered in an ancientpeatbog.It was at Lindow Moss that abog body,Lindow Man,was discovered in 1984. Lindow Man is now on display at theBritish Museum.
Lindow Common was managed byMacclesfield BoroughCouncil's Countryside and Ranger Service.[5]The common is now managed byCheshire EastCouncil.
Current work at Lindow Common is aiming to start selective removal of birch trees, in order to promote regrowth ofheather(Calluna vulgaris) to return the area to heathland. This is one of only two sites in Cheshire with areas of lowland wet heath.
A racecourse once existed around the outskirts of the Common. The racecourse is no longer there, but the road around the perimeter is called Racecourse Road.
The Common features (under its Welsh nameLlyn-dhu) inAlan Garner's popular children's fantasy novelThe Weirdstone of Brisingamen.[6]
References
[edit]- ^"Lindow Common citation"(PDF).Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England.Archived(PDF)from the original on 23 October 2012.Retrieved24 July2013.
- ^"Map of Lindow Common".Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England.Archivedfrom the original on 3 March 2016.Retrieved24 July2013.
- ^"Lindow Common".Local Nature Reserves. Natural England.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved24 July2013.
- ^"Map of Lindow Common".Local Nature Reserves. Natural England.Archivedfrom the original on 24 March 2016.Retrieved24 July2013.
- ^Macclesfield BoroughCouncil's Countryside and Ranger Service."News from Lindow".Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2007.Retrieved23 August2006.
- ^Garner, Alan(1960). "Mist over Lynn-dhu".The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley.Collins.
External links
[edit]- Lindow Common from wilmslow.org
- News from Lindow
- Lowland raised peat bog, from Cheshire Wildlife Trust
- Lindow Common Nature Reserve page, fromCheshire East Council
- Heathland local action plan
- Campaign to save and restore Lindow Moss
