Squelch! The mystery of Britain's young bogs


(Image: Erland Grøtberg/Gett)


A team went looking for bogs that bear witness to Britain's great deforestation – but most were too young. What's the path out of the quagmire?


WINNIE-THE-POOH'S friend Eeyore lived in a corner of the English countryside that will be familiar to anyone who has ever been walking in this part of the world. You decide to take a shortcut. The ground begins to get slightly soggy. Then very soggy. But you are a hardy hiker, and surely it's not worth turning ba... squelch. One boot sinks deep enough to take on a sockful of slime. You may let out an Eeyoreish sigh.


But for some, the small bogs that dot the British countryside and many other damp landscapes are places to be sought out, not avoided. We're not just talking about wildlife, although wetlands are havens for rare plants and animals. For scientists, bogs ...


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