Gordon Moss

Last updated April 04, 2019

Gordon Moss is a nature reserve near Gordon, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Berwickshire.

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park.

Gordon is a village in the old county of Berwickshire, Scotland and is now part of the Scottish Borders Council. The village sits on the crossroads of the A6106 Earlston to Duns road and the A6089 Edinburgh to Kelso road, it is 6 miles east of Earlston and 4 miles west of Greenlaw at grid reference NT64764306

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and, to the south-west, south and east, the English counties of Cumbria and Northumberland. The administrative centre of the area is Newtown St Boswells.

Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora. Flora, fauna and other forms of life such as fungi are collectively referred to as biota. Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess Shale fauna". Paleontologists sometimes refer to a sequence of faunal stages, which is a series of rocks all containing similar fossils. The study of animals of a particular region is called faunistics.

Moths comprise a group of insects related to butterflies, belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Most lepidopterans are moths, and there are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.

History and archaeology

On 21 January 1882, a workman walking across Gordon Moss discovered a flint axehead, described as being fashioned of a dark grey mottled flint, measuring 150mm by 50mm.

Gordon Moss is a remaining fragment of a much larger area of moss-land which historically extended across much of the low-lying ground from Earlston, past Gordon and Eastwards towards Greenlaw. Agricultural drainage schemes were implemented and allowed much of this land to be farmed. It appears that historically the drainage of the current Gordon Moss area was largely unsuccessful and in wet weather conditions much of the larger low-lying area becomes boggy and flooded to this day.

Gordon Moss formed part of the lands of the Greenknowe Estate. Circa the 1700s, some nearby land from the estate was sold as plots which now form Gordon's Main Street. Many of the title deeds of these plots came with a variety of rights from the lands of Greenknowe such as catching rabbits, gathering firewood and cutting divots (turf to fireproof thatching). This caused various conflicts with farming practices on the Greenknowe estate so in the 1800s part of the land of the Gordon Moss was given in exchange for these rights. The new owners of this land were known as the feuars and it is understood locally that certain properties still retain rights to part of the Gordon Moss. It appears that the feuars continued to attempt draining the land for some time afterwards and used it for grazing, firewood and shooting.

Local folklore says that in the mists of time the nearby village of Gordon was attacked by enemy soldiers. Local lads acted foolishly to entice the invaders to follow them into the Gordon Moss. By leaping out from behind bushes they lured the enemy into rushing forwards at them into very dangerous boggy areas and saved their village. They were proudly known as the Gordon Gowks and are remembered yet.

Twenty-first century

The Gordon Moss is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) - these are controlled and monitored by Scottish Natural Heritage. There are very few remaining areas of semi-natural moss land remaining in the Scottish Borders.

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".

Scottish Natural Heritage is the Scottish public body responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e. national nature reserves, local nature reserves, long distance routes, national parks, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and the national scenic area.

Whilst there is little maintenance or human interference in the Gordon Moss, the Scottish Wildlife Trust have an involvement with part of the Moss.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland.

The water levels in the moss are lower than they were historically and it is a pleasant and very quiet place to explore with strong footwear, but beware of adders. There are various safe tracks throughout, but some deep boggy areas and pools remain.

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References

The antiquary (1882), 'Antiquarian news, stone celt', The Antiquary, 2nd, vol.5, page 179
RCAHMS (1980), 'The archaeological sites and monuments of Berwickshire District, Borders Region, Edinburgh'

External links

Coordinates: 55°40′29″N2°34′56″W / 55.6746°N 2.5823°W / 55.6746; -2.5823

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