Breath-taking: Wigan Scotman's Flash nature reserve seen from the skies
To think that these were once unslightly and embarrassing relics of a town’s faded coal industry.
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Wigan Flashes are proof that you can make a purse out of a sow’s ear after all. Over the years, muddy lakes caused by mining subsidence were transformed into one of the North West’s most important nature reserves, home to an abundance of flora and fauna.
Today Scotman’s Flash is a magnet for water sports while the surrounding woodland, other lakes and canalside walks are popular with walkers. Here are rare aerial views of them taken by our photographer Kelvin’s drone camera.