SP0981 : Moseley Bog Nature Reserve
taken 13 years ago, near to Springfield, Birmingham, England
Moseley bog is a nature reserve situated only a few miles from Birmingham city centre in Moseley. The site was once a feeder reservoir for Sarehole mill Link. The embankment for this has survived. The site is also noted for the 'burnt mounds', Bronze age pebble piles that are now scheduled ancient monuments.
UB40 used a now demolished house nearby to record their earliest songs however the site is more famous for providing some inspiration for J.R.R Tolkien, the creator of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien lived here as a young boy.
The site was threatened with housing but a campaign saved it for the locals and nation. Joy Fifer, who spearheaded the campaign had her efforts rewarded with part of the site now named Joy's Wood.
The reserve comprises dry woodland, some fens in the old millpond as well as the old bog/wet woodland.