The Meres and Mosses are a natural area of England defined by Natural England and its predecessor bodies as statutory regulators for the natural environment of England. This region in the northwest part of the English Midlands coincides broadly with the Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire National Character Area (NCA) 61.[1] A Ramsar site was designated in May 1994 covering 16 sites across this region, with a total area of 510.88 hectares, and known as the 'Midland Meres and Mosses Phase 1'. Over 60 individual water bodies or meres are recognised within the designation alongside a lesser number of peatland sites.[2] Phase 2 of the Ramsar designation included Rostherne Mere on the northern margin of this area. A handful of similar meres and mosses are located close by in eastern Wales, notably in Welsh Maelor, within the modern borough of Wrexham.
The following list is based in part on information provided by researchers P.W. Beale and C.S. Reynolds, the latter having collected them into groups in the Ellesmere, Whitchurch, Woore, Delamere, Baschurch, Shrewsbury and Knutsford areas. Two further categories include those in the 'marginal belt of hummocky drift' in the east and those seen to sit in isolation.[3]
| Name | Area (ha) | Group | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Mere (nr Ellesmere) | 8.4 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Ellesmere Mere | 46.1 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Kettle Mere | 1.7 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Newton Mere | 8.3 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| White Mere | 25.5 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Cole Mere | 27.6 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Crose Mere | 15.2 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Sweat Mere | 0.2 approx | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Hardwick Pool | 3.6 | Ellesmere | Shropshire |
| Peckforton Mere | 1.0 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Chapel Mere | 6.5 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Deer Park Mere | 9.4 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Norbury Big Mere | 1.6 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Norbury Little Mere | 1.5 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Bar Mere | 9.7 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Quoisley Big Mere | 4.0 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Quoisley Little Mere | 2.2 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Marbury Big Mere | 10.5 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Marbury Little Mere | 1.3 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Oss Mere | 9.5 | Whitchurch | Shropshire |
| Comber Mere | 51.5 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Blake Mere nr Whitchurch | 3.7 | Whitchurch | Shropshire |
| Baddiley Mere | 6.7 | Whitchurch | Cheshire |
| Hanmer Mere | 17.7 | Whitchurch | Wrexham |
| Doddington Pool | 19.3 | Woore | Cheshire |
| Betley Mere | 9.3 | Woore | Staffordshire |
| Hatch Mere | 4.7 | Delamere | Cheshire |
| Oak Mere | 18.3 | Delamere | Cheshire |
| Petty Pool | 11.7 | Delamere | Cheshire |
| Little Budworth Pool | 4.9 | Delamere | Cheshire |
| Berth Mere | 2.9 | Baschurch | Shropshire |
| Birchgrove Mere | 1.7 | Baschurch | Shropshire |
| Fenemere | 9.4 | Baschurch | Shropshire |
| Marton Pool (Baschurch) | 6.8 | Baschurch | Shropshire |
| Cottage Pool | 1.8 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Isle Pool | 5.8 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Oxon Pool | 1.4 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Alkmond Park Pool | 4.4 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Hencott Pool | 3.5 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Bomere Pool | 10.3 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Shomere | 1.3 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Betton Pool | 6.4 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Top Pool | 1.8 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Berrington Pool | 2.5 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire |
| Budworth Mere | 39.4 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Pick Mere | 17.5 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Tabley Mere | 19.4 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Mere Mere | 15.8 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Rostherne Mere | 48.7 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Tatton Mere | 31.7 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Booth's Mere | 6.4 | Knutsford | Cheshire |
| Radnor Mere | 8.3 | Marginal | Cheshire |
| Redes Mere | 17.0 | Marginal | Cheshire |
| Taxmere | 1.2 | Marginal | Cheshire |
| Rode Pool | 12.7 | Marginal | Cheshire |
| Lawton Mere | 1.3 | Marginal | Cheshire |
| Alsager Mere | 3.5 | Marginal | Cheshire |
| Maer Pool | 5.5 | isolated | Staffordshire |
| Cop Mere | 16.8 | isolated | Staffordshire |
| Aqualate Mere | 72.5 | isolated | Staffordshire |
| Marton Pool, nr Chirbury | 13.7 | isolated | Shropshire |
| Llynclys Pool | 2.8 | isolated | Shropshire |
| Padeswood Pool | 1.0 approx | isolated | Flintshire |