🌿 The Flow Country
Munsary & Shielton Bog, northern Scotland
📋 Fast Facts
- Europe's largest continuous blanket bog expanse, covering approximately 4,000 square kilometres in Caithness and Sutherland, northern Scotland
- Peatland depths exceed several metres in places, storing vast quantities of carbon and functioning as a crucial global climate regulator
- Designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its ecological significance for biodiversity, climate mitigation, and scientific research
- Supports breeding populations of golden plovers, red-throated divers, hen harriers, and merlins alongside mammals including red deer and otters
The Flow Country is one of the world's largest continuous areas of blanket bog, a waterlogged peatland ecosystem formed over thousands of years in northern Scotland. The designation encompasses Munsary and Shielton Bog and surrounding areas, representing an intact landscape of sphagnum moss, heather, cotton grass, and small lochs interspersed across flat and gently undulating terrain. This peatland ecosystem stores more carbon per unit area than forests and plays a documented role in climate ...