Borth Bog

One of my modules this year is Wildlife Conservation and as part of it I went on a field trip to Cors Fochno or Borth Bog. 

Cors Fochno is a raised peat bog in the enormous Dyfi nature reserve located between Aberystwyth and Machynlleth. The field trip was to learn how various types of protection help to save special areas such as Borth bog which is one of only a few raised peat bog left in the UK, Cors Fochno is both a Biosphere reserve and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Bog life

We arrived at the bog around 2 o'clock and despite the wind and the rain the trip was a really fun experience. The walk around the bog started near a field with a lovely, albeit wet and bedraggled, pony.

Peat bogs re full of different types of moss that can only be found in the anoxic, and incredibly damp conditions the bog has to offer. There is also a wide range of other flowers and plants unique to Cors Fochno but as its still early spring many of them weren't in bloom.

Cors Fochno is also home to a wide range of wildlife such as otters, we happened across some otter scat and trails on the walk. Red kites, the Welsh national bird of prey, badgers, adders and willow warblers. 

Making the Earth Move

The composition of a bog, especially a raised peat bog, makes for a very bouncy walk. Despite the wooden walkway that has been fixed to the bog to allow people to easily traverse the bog without sinking or easily getting lost our guide took us off the beaten track for a couple of 'educational exercises'. 

This included seeing how far down the peat layer of the bog is, discovering how much the level of the water table changes between winter and summer, and my favourite was gathering in a group and jumping on the springy moss and feeling the earth moving beneath our feet.

Beautiful danger

Despite my warm clothes and waterproof coat the sheer exposedness of the bog caused me to get chilled right down to my core, I became lethargic and almost fell asleep on the coach on the way back to Uni. Exposure is a big danger when out and about, whether its for a leisurely walk or if, like me, you plan on getting a job that is mainly outdoors.

Bogs, such as Cors Fochno, whilst very beautiful can be very dangerous as we were shown when our group left the trail and almost got completely turned around and lost. Despite the overall flatness of the bog, its complete lack of identifying markers makes it very easy to get completely lost. 

Another danger is the many gasses produced by the bog due to its lack of decomposition, these gases have been known to spontaneously catch fire which is incidentally where the myth of will-o-the-wisps came from.

Overall the field trip was great and despite how tired and cold I was buy the end of it I had a great time.