Fleet Moss is known as the most eroded blanket bog in all of Yorkshire; because of its observable damage, it is known colloquially as The Somme, and as such, is visible from space.

[3] Fleet Moss, which is 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the village of Oughtershaw,[4] is an important peatland that stores carbon, filters water and provides a habitat for wildlife and fauna.

[5] A road extends over the hill from Oughtershaw to Gayle, then Hawes, which passes Fleet Moss, but attains a slightly higher altitude than the bog of 1,932 ft (589 m).

[12] Fleet Moss is a blanket bog, which gains all its nutrients through rainfall (or snow, hail and fog) rather than being fed by streams (ombrotrophic),[13][14][15] with the depth of the peat at over 11 feet (3.5 m) in places.

[2] A cross-section of the peat contains the Glen Garry tephra layer, a sediment laid down by a volcanic event which provides a chronological marker.

[26][27] Areas to the north east of Fleet Moss are used extensively for grazing animals and shooting, with the south western side of the site noted for its peatland.

[28] The programme has seen the installation of sediment traps and dams across 253 acres (102.5 ha) to prevent erosion and the run-off of acidic peaty water into streams and rivers.

[46] The road over Fleet Moss between Oughtershaw in the south (Wharfedale), and Gayle in the north (Wensleydale), is well-known among cyclists for being a tough ascent from either direction.

The pass regularly features in the best rides sections of newspapers and cycling magazines,[47][48] and is also listed as being the highest paved road in Yorkshire.