Whixall and Bettisfield Reserve is a national nature reserve which straddles the border between England and Wales, near Whixall and Ellesmere in Shropshire, England and Bettisfield in Wrexham County Borough, Wales.  
It is managed by Natural England and Natural Resources Wales (replacing the former Countryside Council for Wales) and comprises three peat bogs, Bettisfield Moss, Fenn’s Moss and Whixall Moss. Fenn’s Moss is the source of the Wych Brook, a tributary of the River Dee. The River Roden, a tributary of the River Tern, also rises in the vicinity and forms part of the border of England and Wales near Wem Moss (see below). The Llangollen Canal runs near the southern edge of the reserve and the Ellesmere Canal joins it nearby

The Reserve is the only site in the Midlands for the rare Large Heath.  There are 3 subspecies of large heath, the Whixall one is subspecies “davus”.

How to get there                                                 Other Sites                                                                   

Large Heath

Above: The Chart show species found at Whixall taken from casual recordings.  A Transect was done until 2005 when the number of Large Heath was 116.  However only 3 recordings were received last year.