New status will help improve access to nature, create opportunities for learning and recreation, and help support the local economy through sustainable farming.
As of today, Mid Cornwall Moors have been official recognised as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), the 14th such site in the ‘King’s Series of NNRs’ initiative, introduced in 2023. Under the scheme, five NNRs are named each year, over a period of five years.
NNR status recognises the importance of a site, and serves to focus efforts on nature conservation and science. The first seven NNRs were declared in 1952, and a total of 221 NNRs were recognised during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Mid Cornwall mores comprise a patchwork of semi-natural habitats that include heath, moorland, mire, and woodland across Cornwall’s distinctive ‘clay country’. The area is one of Cornwall’s most rurally deprived regions.
Among the distinctive natural features of the newly recognised NNR are wet ‘willow carr’ woodland, home to the rare willow tit, and raised bogs with sphagnum moss, lesser butterfly orchid, royal fern and the carnivorous round-leaved sundew. Cornish moneywort, also thrives in the area – a plant unique to Cornwall’s tin-streaming landscape.
The NNR also features important historical sites such as Helman Tor, the Iron Age hillfort Castle an Dinas and Goss Moor, associated with the legendary King Arthur.
The reserve combines land managed for its nature and heritage by Natural England, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust, the Gaia Trust and Imerys. It includes land designated as the Mid Cornwall Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which is of exceptional ecological importance.
Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England, says: ‘The declaration of the Mid Cornwall Moors as a National Nature Reserve is a powerful recognition of the landscape’s extraordinary natural and cultural heritage. By bringing these landscapes together under one reserve, we are not only helping to restore precious habitats but also creating more opportunities for people to connect with nature, history and the unique character of this part of Cornwall for generations to come.’
Mary Creagh MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), adds: ‘The Mid Cornwall Moors is a truly special landscape, shaped by thousands of years of history and home to some of England’s rarest wildlife. Combining this rich patchwork of habitats as a National Nature Reserve will protect this unique place and provide better access to nature for the people who live alongside it and a boost to everyone who visits.’
Photo: Castle an Dinas on the Mid Cornwall Moors, courtesy of Cornwall Heritage Trust
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