Geograph - photograph every grid square

Located behind Hatchmere village and on the border of Delamere Forest is a small area of wet woodland, one of many to found throughout the forest.

Wet woodland occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils, usually with alder, birch and willows as the predominant tree species, but sometimes including ash, oak, pine and beech on the drier riparian areas. It is found on floodplains, fens, mires and bogs, along streams, hill-side flushes, and in peaty hollows. These woodlands occur on a range of soil types including nutrient-rich mineral and acid, nutrient-poor organic ones. The boundaries with dry woodland may be sharp or gradual and may (but not always) change with time through succession, depending on the conditions and management of the wood and its surrounding land. Therefore wet woods frequently occur in mosaic with other woodland key habitat types and with open key habitats such as fens.Wet woodland combines elements of many other ecosystems and as such is important for many different types of wildlife. The high humidity favours bryophyte growth such as mosses and liverworts. The number of invertebrates associated with alder, birch and willows, is very large, although some are now confined to just a few sites. Dead wood within the sites can be frequent, and its association with water provides specialised habitats not found in dry woodland types. While few rare plant species depend on wet woodland as such, there may be some relict species from the former open wetlands on the site such as the marsh fern for example. For further, more detailed information see the UKBAP website at Link (Archive Link ) .

Delamere Forest, an area of approximately 2,400 acres (972 hectares), is one of the last remnants of the Ancient Forests of Mara and Mondrem, a hunting forest that once spread for over 60 square miles in the North-West of Cheshire and was owned by the Norman Earls of Cheshire. The harsh Forest Laws of the time greatly limited the use of the ground for agriculture until the early 13th century when the laws were relaxed and parts of the southern forest of Mondrem began to be cleared. Ownership of the remains of the great forests passed to the Crown in 1812, with Delamere Forest being handed to the Forestry Commission soon after it was set up in 1919 and they still manage it to this day. It is very popular with walkers, cyclists and horse riders with several way-marked trails and tracks; there is also a Go-Ape aerial adventure course. Delamere Forest comprises a mix of habitats with Broad-leaved and Conifer woodlands at various stages of growth, with areas of grassland and wetland in between. These provide a home for many woodland birds such as nuthatches, treecreepers, crossbills, siskins, tawny owls and greater spotted and green woodpeckers. Dragonflies such as the nationally scarce White Faced Darter and the Southern Hawker can be found in the wetland areas, along with Marsh Fern and White Sedge- both locally scarce plants. Mammals include Foxes, Badgers and Bats.