Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels

The modern system in recycling land back to farm use and conservation has resulted in the creation of numerous Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Large areas of peat were laid down on the Somerset Levels, particularly in the River Brue Valley, during the Quaternary period after the ice sheets melted.

Merged into the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) west of Ashcott existed "Alexander siding", which allowed exchange between the SD&JR and the Eclipse tramway system, and hence distribution of cut peat products across the United Kingdom.

[5] In 1949 a British Railways passenger train from Highbridge collided with an Eclipse narrow gauge diesel locomotive crossing on the level and left the track, ending up in the Glastonbury Canal.

However, the resultant reduction in water levels put local ecosystems at risk; peat wastage in pasture fields was occurring at rates of 1–3 feet (0.3–0.8 m) per century.

[9] After the company had finished working an area, it was environmentally restored, and then either resold to the original farmer, conservationists, or private buyers.