Delamere Forest has also been designated an SSSI for its fenland habitat. The white-faced darter, a species of dragonfly rare in the UK, and marsh fern and white sedge, wetland plants that are rare in Cheshire, are found here. Delamere Forest is a popular recreational area that is used by walkers, cyclists, mountain bikers and horse riders. It is also an outdoor concert venue. The twin medieval Forests of Mara and Mondrem were created within the county palatine of Cheshire by the Norman Earls of Chester in the late 11th century. However the area might have earlier been an Anglo-Saxon hunting forest.
Delamere Forest Covering more than , the forest stretched from the Mersey in the north to Nantwich in the south, and from the Gowy in the west to the Weaver in the east. Between 1277 and 1536, the forests encompassed more than 60 townships or villages. In this context, "forest" means an area outside the common law and subject to forest law; it does not imply that the area was entirely wooded, and the land remained largely in private ownership. Game was hunted with dogs and included wild boar, and red, fallow and roe deer. During the early Norman period, the penalties