The Book in a Box on the Bog

Flanders Moss NNR

Approximately 8000 people visit Flanders Moss every year, from dog walkers and regular locals to international tourists and wetlands enthusiasts. We love hearing from all of our visitors about what brings them venturing out to the bog and what they have seen on our reserves. The boardwalk at Flanders Moss has hosted a rather unassuming wooden box for a few years now that holds the stories and experiences of those that explore the bog.

The bog box beside one of the look-out benches

Visitors can sit on our bench by the boardwalk and take in the view while writing down any observations, experiences or stories in the bog book. The bog box was built and installed at Flanders’s in 2020 with members of the NNR team getting creative during the lockdown and building the box with all reused materials such as a dismantled bridge and old fence posts. Carving done by the hands of another NNR team member, the box has sat proud withstanding the elements and protecting our visitors stories.

Sit.Relax.Record

As another busy summer draws to a close the pages of the bog book have filled up and the the team are able to reflect upon all the experiences and feedback left by our visitors.

Below is a collection of some of the many stories, observations and creative writings and doodles that have filled the pages of our most recent bog book since the beginning of summer.

A visitor finding humour in exploring rural locations

Visitors from all across the globe

A lot of appreciation for our bog residents, particularly the Common lizard

For myself and fellow Seasonal Reserve Officer Emma who are fortunate enough to work on site at the reserves most days and get to spend a lot of time chatting to visitors these bog book entries are heart-warming reminders of the conversations we have with people that come to visit the bog.

For our other reserve team members however the bog book is a rare insight into our visitors experiences and one we all greatly look forward to reading each time the pages are filled. We are so grateful that our visitors continue to share what they have seen, felt and thought on their visits and are excited to see what stories come with the next book.