When did you last encounter a schwingmoor?

The Chartley Moor Nature Reserve is the biggest schwingmoor in Britain. Or perhaps you know schwingmoors by another name – quaking bogs.

They occur when a layer of peat grows on top of a body of water, thick enough that plants and trees can grow quite happily, floating on the water.

But, as reporter Christopher Brasher discovers, you could never mistake it for solid land.


Clip taken from Tonight, originally broadcast on BBC tv on Thursday, 9 April, 1964.



You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.

Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?...