T

he Somerset Levels and Moors are one of those areas of England that often get overlooked by nature lovers.

Quite literally for the thousands of them who come here every year to see the otters, water voles, swans and other creatures that call this vast area of wetland home.

The levels are a huge clay belt that begins on the coast – close to Weston-Super-Mare – turning to peat floodplain as it stretches inland. This is where it forms the reed-beds that birds like bitterns and curlews love so much.

Come here in winter and you’ll see flocks of starlings taking to the skies at dusk – up to 80,000 of them at a time putting on aerial displays that would make the Red Arrows flying team jealous; it’s pretty spectacular stuff.

One of the best ways to see it is to get your boots on and go for a walk, following the 50-mile River Parrett Trail, which starts at the river’s source in Dorset, before ending up at the Bridgwater Bay.

Don’t forget those binoculars…