Farming News - Ancient Cornish moors gain National Nature Reserve status
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Ancient Cornish moors gain National Nature Reserve status
- A unique Cornish moorland landscape shaped by thousands of years of history becomes a National Nature Reserve for local people and visitors to enjoy
- Over 1,100 hectares of moorland, the equivalent of 1,500 football pitches, recognised for nature recovery.
- Home to wild wet woodlands, heaths and bogs, reserve supports rare species including willow tit and butterfly orchids.
The Mid Cornwall Moors is today (Wednesday 27 May) declared the 14th site in the King’s Series of National Nature Reserves (NNR’s), bringing together over 1,100 hectares of moorland, more than doubling the area of land managed for nature in this historic landscape.
Forming a patchwork of semi-natural habitats, including heath, moorland, mire, and woodland, the Mid Cornwall Moors, creates a network across Cornwall’s distinctive ‘clay country’. Located in the heartlands of central Cornwall, with St Austell to the south, Bodmin to the east, and St Columb Major to the north, the area serves a community living in one of Cornwall's most rurally deprived regions. The declaration aims to improve access to nature, create opportunities for learning and recreation, and help support the local economy through sustainable farming.
The reserve is home to rare habitats and species including wet ‘willow carr’ woodland, with the rare willow tit, and raised bogs with sphagnum moss, lesser butterfly orchid, royal fern and the carnivorous round-leaved sundew. Cornish moneywort, which is unique to Cornwall’s tin streaming landscape, also thrives.
This declaration celebrates places that have shaped Cornwall’s history, spanning prehistoric tin streaming, Iron Age hillforts and ancient woodland. Iconic sites including Helman Tor, the Iron Age hillfort of Castle an Dinas, and Goss Moor, known locally as King Arthur’s favourite hunting ground, all form part of this nationally significant landscape.
The reserve combines land managed for nature and heritage by Natural England, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust, the Gaia Trust and Imerys. It also includes land designated as the Mid Cornwall Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which is land of exceptional ecological importance.
Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England, said:
“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.”
Nature Minister Mary Creagh said:
"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.”
Reversing the decline in nature and moving toward ecological recovery requires bigger, better and more joined up areas for nature to thrive. With the support of His Majesty King Charles III, Natural England is leaving a lasting public legacy for people, science and nature by creating or extending 25 National Nature Reserves by 2028. The Mid Cornwall is the 14th NNR in the Series. Around 1.4 million people live within 5km of a King’s Series NNR.