Ellesmere
Ellesmere is a market town near Oswestry in north Shropshire, England, notable for its closeness to a number of popular Meres. The community is located alongside Ellesmere (also known as 'the Mere'), among the largest all-natural meres in England outside the Lake District and one of 9 glacial meres in the area. ('glacial' means that the depression inhabited by the plain was the location of a block of ice that lingered at the end of the last Glacial period). These meres are various from those in the Lake District because they do not have a flow of water right into them to preserve the degree. A man-made island in the Mere was constructed in 1812 from soil removed throughout the making of the gardens at Ellesmere House. This was later named Moscow Island, as Napoleon was forced to retreat from Moscow that year. The Mere has a visitors' centre and also is preferred with birdwatchers, much of whom check out to see grey herons nesting. There are eight various other meres close by: Blakemere, Colemere, Crosemere, Kettlemere, Newtonmere, Whitemere, Sweatmere and also Hanmer Mere. The civil parish which constitutes the town is Ellesmere Urban; the bordering parish, covering a huge backwoods, is Ellesmere Rural.
