The flashes of Wigan and Leigh make up the heart of my local patch.
A flash is a lake formed by land subsidence after centuries of industrial coal mining — a defining feature of this landscape. This area carries a deep industrial history: the Wigan Coal and Iron Company was once the largest colliery owner on the Lancashire Coalfield, employing around 9,000 workers in the 1920s. The shafts of Parsonage Colliery in Leigh, sunk between 1913 and 1920, were at the time the deepest in Britain. A short history of the region can be found here
Out of these vast scars left by our industrial past, nature has quietly reclaimed the land. Still waters, whispering reedbeds, and wide open skies now shape a sanctuary where wildlife thrives and where we can slow down, breathe, and find a little peace. We’re incredibly fortunate to have all of this right on our doorstep.
Nevison’s Flash — the closest flash to my home and locally known as Tinker Joe’s — is a small body of open water and wetland habitat within Bickershaw Country Park in the Wigan borough. It features open water fringed with reedbeds, though there are no hides or visitor facilities. Regular sightings include Buzzard, Willow Tit, Reed Bunting and Reed Warbler.
Fir Tree Flash is a major serpentine‑shaped wetland lake, also within Bickershaw Country Park. It forms the heart of a 247‑hectare conservation landscape made up of extensive reedbeds, open water, rough grassland and patches of wet woodland. Wildlife here often includes Coots, Great Crested Grebes, Reed Warblers and Grey Heron.
Diggle Flash, the northernmost of the flashes, is reached via the park’s Northern Trail. Surrounded by open grassland and scrub, it’s a reliable spot for casual birdwatching and scanning for movement along the margins.
Lightshaw Meadows is an 18-hectare nature reserve nestled in the heart of Abram. Breeding waders, Lapwings, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Little Ringed Plover. Summer and winter visitors like Gadwall and the elusive Bittern.
Abram Nature Reserve (commonly referenced as Abram Flash) is a 7-hectare biological haven situated in the village of Abram. This Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) serves as a critical geographical bridge, linking the northern Wigan Flashes to the southern wetlands of Lightshaw Meadows and Pennington Flash. Because it is a highly sensitive breeding habitat, public footpaths inside the core reserve are restricted to protect nesting wildlife, but the surrounding trails offer spectacular panoramic viewing points. The reedbeds and open water support one of the region’s largest populations of breeding birds. Spring and summer attract mute swans, garganeys, tufted ducks, shoveler ducks, and gadwalls. The marshy pastures provide nesting grounds for rare, nationally declining bird species such as lapwings, snipes, redshanks, and vibrant yellow wagtails. Autumn and winter see an influx of migrant waders utilizing the lake as a feeding roost, bringing greenshanks, dunlins, ruffs, and overwintering ducks migrating from Scandinavia and Russia.
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| Leigh Flashes, Lightshaw meadows and Abram NR |
Pennington Flash is a 200‑hectare country park and nature reserve in Leigh, Greater Manchester. Created by mining subsidence, its large lake is the flagship site of the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve. The park offers extensive walking trails, several bird hides, and visitor facilities including The Hide café and toilets. Sightings range widely, with species such as Osprey, Buzzard, Little Ringed Plover, Pied Wagtail, Bullfinch, Lapwing, various waders and many more recorded throughout the year.
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| Pennington Flash |
The Wigan Flashes Local Nature Reserve is the true urban heart of the wider National Nature Reserve network. Spanning 260 hectares of rich wetland, scrub, and mature woodland, this incredibly diverse space was shaped by the subsidence of historic coal mining fields.Today, it stands as one of the premier birdwatching and nature trail destinations in North West England, managed passionately by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Wigan Council.
The reserve is a crucial refuge for several rare, threatened, and protected species:The Willow Tit: The Wigan Flashes are a national stronghold for the UK's most threatened resident bird, which thrives in the wet, decaying elder and willow woodlands.Water Voles: These elusive mammals find sanctuary along the complex network of undisturbed ditches and reed-fringed banks.Bitterns and Reed Birds: The extensive reedbeds provide vital nesting and feeding grounds for secretive bitterns, reed warblers, and water rails.
The reserve is comprised of eight distinct bodies of water, each offering its own unique character and vantage points:
- Scotman's Flash: The largest and deepest body of water, predominantly used for managed water sports, sailing, and windsurfing.
- Pearson's Flash: A premier birdwatching hotspot featuring dedicated viewing hides overlooking open water and mudflats.
- Turner's Flash: Fringed by dense reedbeds and young woodland trails, making it excellent for spotting songbirds.
- Horrocks Flash: Highly dynamic wetlands with islands and seasonal mud spits that attract diverse migratory wading birds.
- Ochrey Flash, Westwood Flash, Bryn Marsh, and Hawkley Reedbed: Quieter, conservation-focused zones dominated by dense marsh and fen habitats designed purely to give wildlife undisturbed space.
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| Wigan Flashes |
For more information on these and other reserves included in the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh go here
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