Blawhorn Moss

Engaging interpretation and striking sculptures, inspired by microscopic secrets.

Blawhorn Moss is a National Nature Reserve, and the largest area of raised bog in the Scottish Lowlands.

But raised bog can be a difficult environment to love. Scottish Natural Heritage had developed a boardwalk to encourage people to explore this wild place, together with a platform from which school groups can go pond dipping.

My brief for the interpretation was to explain the bog’s formation and importance, and to provide “something extra” to add a sense of drama. I commissioned and worked with artist blacksmith Jim Whitson, who created sculptures inspired by the bog’s wildlife and the remarkable sexual reproduction structures of mosses.