Probably the best watched sites in the SECOS Recording Area, Sandbach Flashes, aka “The Flashes”.
Most, if not all, of this area is a Natural England designated SSSI and privately owned.
An all embracing term used to describe the various flashes in the area to the west and south of Sandbach, and north of Crewe. These started forming in the 1930's after land subsidence following brine extraction. All flashes are now privately owned and there is no public access. However, most are watchable from public roads and tracks. Most of the flashes area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). There are currently around fourteen flashes, most are fishes and some have restricted access.
Most of the flashes are fished, some have restricted access.
Most can be viewed from the roads that criss-cross the area, parking either on tarmac laybys, pull-ins, hardcore carparks or soft verges.
Many of the roads are narrow and caution navigating them is advised.
The Trent and Mersey Canal runs through the area and a towpath is accessible at most bridge crossings which can give elevated views, if restricted in places, of some areas covered in this document.
Local birders deliberately avoid some sites at certain times of the day – depending on your location and time, bright sunshine can hamper visibility.
