Project

River Bollin Riverlands project at Lyme

View across countryside with trees, fields and in the distance the Bollin reservoir — Bollin reservoir across the park at Lyme | © National Trust Images / Annapurna Mellor

As part of a national programme to improve the health of rivers across England and Wales, we've launched the River Bollin Riverlands project. The project will include Lyme, Dunham Massey, Quarry Bank, Hare Hill and Alderley Edge.

What’s happening at Lyme?

A 1,400 acre estate nestled on the edge of the Peak District with a medieval herd of red deer offering fantastic walks and stunning views. To improve riverland habitat here we will be de-culverting up to 2km of moorland and installing around 90 leaky dams.

Where is the River Bollin?

The River Bollin and its catchment meander through Cheshire and the southern fringes of Manchester, flowing by many places along the way, including Quarry Bank, Dunham Massey, Alderley Edge, Hare Hill and Lyme. The largely rural and agricultural nature of the catchment gives way to the city of Greater Manchester to the north.

What is the Riverlands project?

The River Bollin is part of our national Riverlands Programme which has the following three key aims:

Rivers and catchments that are healthy, clean and rich in wildlife.
Rivers and catchments that are easily accessed, valued and loved for their heritage and beauty.
Sustainable long-term care for rivers and catchments.

We’ll also be working with local communities to help them rediscover and reconnect with their rivers – as spaces for leisure and activity, to socialise, or simply take a walk beside the water and clear their minds.

A new investment of almost £1m from the Government's Species Survival Fund will support these projects, protect fragile ecosystems and create nature-rich landscapes. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Riverlands Bollin is a part of the Freshwater Community Grant Fund. This fund supports community initiatives to restore freshwater habitats in England. In partnership with Defra's Species Survival Fund, the scheme aims to award a total of £75,000 to local initiatives. Applications are now open for community groups to submit bids for this funding. You can find out more about the Freshwater Community Grant Fund by clicking here.

On this timeline, we'll be posting regular updates of the work we're doing on the project, so keep checking back in to stay up to date.

Latest updates

October 2025

Deculverting the moorland

We are improving the moorland habitat at Lyme by re-wetting the ground through the disruption of the drains and culverts, this will help to reduce flood risk, both at Lyme and further downstream. We have hired contractors Terra Firma to find the drains and culverts, break them, and then re-create the stream bed so that water flows on the surface rather than underground for the first time in hundreds of years.

Where clay pipes have been installed, the team create earth dams to hold small amounts of water in pools every eight to ten metres. Where stone culverts are found they are completely dug up, and the stone is then used to make small dams in the newly restored watercourse, which helps to create more pools of water. These pools will help wildlife and become home to a wide variety of upland flora and fauna, and will also help in the formation of peat.

Instead of water being forced at high speed through these unnatural features it can now take a more leisurely journey down off the moor and into the catchment. During high rainfall events and prolonged spells of rain, the water can spread into the surrounding vegetation and fill up the small depressions in the landscape that are either naturally formed or have been skilfully created by the contractors.

This work is ongoing and will continue for the next few months. The changes we are already seeing are really exciting. These photos were taken after two weeks work and an exceptionally dry summer, so the signs are that even during droughts in the future, the moorland will hold vital water for wildlife. Three snipe were seen when taking these pictures, who are just one of the species that will benefit from the work.

A digger surrounding by diagonal heaps of earth on the moorland at Lyme as part of the Riverlands deculvertering project — Deculverting the moorland at Lyme, Cheshire, as part of the Riverlands project | © National Trust/Chris Dunkerley

Pools of water forming on the moorland at Lyme, Cheshire, as part of the Riverlands project | © National Trust/Chris Dunkerley

Glossary of key terms

Catchment – the geographical area that supplies water to a main river or lake.

Culvert – a pipe or tunnel that moves water underground. Often this water would have naturally flown overground.

De culverting – removing the pipe or tunnel to allow the watercourse to return to a more natural state.

Ghost pond – an old pond that no longer exists because it has been filled in either naturally or by people.

Landslip – material that falls down a slope, usually smaller than a landslide. At Lyme, this material is man-made litter.

Tributaries – a river or stream that flows into a larger river or lake.

Watercourse – a stream of water (e.g. a river or a brook).

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