This was once the desolate lunar wasteland that George Orwell described in the 1930’s in Road to Wigan Pier. Grim lakes had formed due to subsidence of the underlying coal mines. Mountains of mine- and other waste were tipped. Smoke and acid rain affected the site. Still, nature returned. Areas of tips were later stabilised and landscaped, but naturally wilded areas remain. Parts of this complex site have been helped for certain species and it is now a national nature reserve. Post-industrial sites such as these can often be amongst the most nature-rich places in Britain.