National nature reserves in England are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of the nation, many by Natural England themselves, but also by non-governmental organisations, including the members of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the National Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The national nature reserves (NNRs) of Scotland are areas of land or water designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as containing habitats and species of national importance. National nature reserves can be owned by public, private, community or voluntary organisations but must be managed to conserve their important habitats and species, as well as providing opportunities for the public to enjoy and engage with nature. There are currently 43 NNRs in Scotland, which cover 154,250 hectares (1,542.5 km2), or less than 1.5% of the land area of Scotland. They range in size from Corrieshalloch Gorge at 7 ha to Mar Lodge Estate, which covers 29,324 ha.
Ben Wyvis is a mountain located in Easter Ross, north-west of Dingwall in northern Scotland. It lies in the council area of Highland, and the county of Ross and Cromarty. The mountain is prominent in views of the area, presenting a whale-back shape above the farmland of Strathconon. Geologically, the ridge is composed of Moine pelitic gneiss.
The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve (NNR), Holme Fen NNR and other nature reserves to create a larger site with conservation benefits for wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people.
Creag Meagaidh is a mountain on the northern side of Glen Spean in the Highlands of Scotland. It is a complex mountain, taking the form of a flat summit plateau from which five ridges radiate, and is most famed for the cliffs surrounding the corrie of Coire Ardair on the north-eastern face. These crags are a renowned venue for winter and ice climbing, although being somewhat vegetated they are less suited to summer climbing.
Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, adjoining Morecambe Bay. One of the smallest AONBs, it covers 29 square miles (75 km2) between the Kent Estuary, the River Keer and the A6 road. It was designated in 1972.
Knockan Crag lies within the North West Highlands Geopark in the Assynt region of Scotland 21 kilometres (13 mi) north of Ullapool. During the nineteenth century Knockan Crag became the subject of much debate when geologists noted that the Moine schists at the top of the crag appeared to be older than the Cambrian and Ordovician rocks such as Durness limestone lower down. Disagreements over the processes that could have caused this to occur were referred to at the time as the 'Highlands Controversy'. The argument was primarily between Roderick Murchison and Archibald Geikie on the one hand and James Nicol and Charles Lapworth on the other. Murchison and Geikie believed the sequence was wrong and that the Moine schists must be the younger rocks. The controversy was finally resolved by the work of Ben Peach and John Horne whose 1907 paper on the subject remains a classic text. Peach and Horne demonstrated that the situation resulted from the action of a thrust fault - this being the first to be discovered anywhere in the world. The older rocks had been moved some 70 kilometres to the west over the top of the younger rocks due to tectonic action.
North Walney is a National Nature Reserve on Walney Island, England. The reserve, which has an area of 646.5 ha, is notable as a habitat of Natterjack Toads. It is one of the sites in the Duddon Estuary which support one fifth of the national population of the rare amphibian.
Moor House-Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve covers 7,400 ha of the Pennine moors in the north of England. It straddles Cumbria and County Durham. It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976.
Southrey Wood is reserve near Bardney in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Butterfly Conservation manages this reserve. It is 22 acres (8.9 ha) in extent.
Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve (NNR) is located southeast of Tayport in Fife, Scotland. The reserve is made up of three parts, encompassing Morton Lochs (56.428°N 2.873°W), Tentsmuir Point and Tayport Heath (56.439°N 2.850°W) and is managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The adjoining Tentsmuir Forest is managed by the Forestry Commission Scotland.
Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog located to the northwest of the village of Blackridge, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of Armadale in the council area of West Lothian in central Scotland. A large part of Blawhorn Moss, extending to around 69 hectares, has been managed as a National Nature Reserve by SNH since 1980. In 2001, SNH purchased a further 40 hectares, which was declared as an extension to the existing National Nature Reserve in 2008. It is the largest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians.
Glasdrum Wood is national nature reserve (NNR) at the head of Loch Creran in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland. Managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the wood is renowned for its diverse flora and fauna, including sessile oak and ash trees, mosses, liverworts and rare invertebrates, like the chequered skipper butterfly. The NNR covers an area of around 169 hectares, encompassing woodland and hillside on the lower slopes of Beinn Churlain. SNH have provided a carpark, and constructed a 1 km-long waymarked trail for visitors. Since 2004 approximately 2800 visitors visit annually.
Taynish National Nature Reserve (NNR) is situated southwest of the village of Tayvallich on the west coast of Scotland. The Reserve encompasses almost all of the Taynish peninsula, which is around 5km long and 1km wide. The woodlands at Taynish are often described as a 'temperate rainforest', benefiting from the mild and moist climate brought about by the Gulf Stream. Taynish NNR is owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1977.
Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve (NNR) encompasses 430 hectares of land at the southeastern part of Loch Lomond in the council areas of Stirling and West Dunbartonshire, in Scotland. It covers the islands of Inchcailloch, Clairinsh, Torrinch, Creinch and Aber Isle, alongside areas of woodland and wetlands to either side of the mouth of the Endrick Water. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) owns two parts of the reserve - the island of Inchcailloch and part of Gartfairn Wood - and the rest is privately owned. The reserve is managed by a partnership consisting of SNH, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, along with the owners and tenants of the land under agreements. Within this framework SNH directly manage the islands of Clairinsh, Inchcailloch, Torrinch and Creinch, and land to the north of the Endrick Water. The RSPB manages the area to the south of the Endrick Water, and the National Park manages visitor facilties on Inchcailloch.
Forsinard Flows is a national nature reserve (NNR) covering much of the area surrounding Forsinard in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies at the heart of the Flow Country, a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland area of Caithness and Sutherland that makes up almost 5 % of the world's blanket bog. The reserve is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and is designated a Category II protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Much of the NNR overlaps with the designated area of the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation.
Invereshie and Inshriach is a national nature reserve on the western flank of the Cairngorms in the Highland council area, Scotland. The reserve covers habitats at a range of different altitudes, ranging from Caledonian Forest beside the River Feshie in the west, via bog and open moorland, to an arctic-alpine environment on the Cairngorm plateau. The Munro summit of Sgòr Gaoith (1118 m) lies on the eastern boundary of the reserve. The forested areas of the reserve form part of an expanse of Caledonian pinewood that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy, and which as a whole forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland. The reserve is owned and managed jointly by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS): SNH own the Invereshie portion of the reserve and FCS the Inshriach area.
Moine Mhòr encompasses a large area of raised bog in the Kilmartin Glen area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. As well as raised bog there are areas of saltmarsh, brackish grassland, alder carr, fen and woodland, and the variety of habitats at Moine Mhòr provide important habitats for a variety of animal and plant species. The area was declared a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1987, and is now owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). According to SNH lowland raised bogs like Moine Mhòr are some of the rarest and most threatened natural wildlife habitats in Europe, due to removal of peat, afforestation and reclamation of farmland.
