The Moorlands of England and Wales

Moorland once covered sixty percent of the land of England and Wales. It has since been much reduced by farming, industry, urban growth, airports (notably Heathrow) and forestry, and has become confined largely to military exercise areas and to marginal land at relatively high altitudes. Long valued for shooting and recreation, the moorlands are recognized now as important for their unique and often fragile ecologies, and for their austere beauty.