Deadman SSSI, Somerset

Deadman (grid reference ST234156) is a 28.8 hectare (71.2 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the edge of the Blackdown Hills, near Buckland St Mary 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Taunton in Somerset, notified in 1987.

Deadman is one of the best remaining examples of a mixed valley mire in Somerset.

It contains a rich mosaic of wet heath, bog pools and birch/willow carr grading into acid marshy grassland.

Ground water issues from numerous springs within the greensand producing a locally raised water table and shallow peaty surface horizon.

In places this wet heath has undergone a transition to birch (Betula sp.)