THE beginning of September is an excellent time to visit the district's heathlands.

The heather is in full flower and the heaths both look and smell spectacular.

Working within the Wyre Forest District Council Ranger Service looking after the heaths can be quite an emotional roller-coaster ride.

It takes a lot of hard work to try and keep the lowland heathland habitat in good condition.

In the winter months, areas of broom and gorse have to be cut, invasive young birch trees have to be hand-weeded out of patches of heather and the cattle have to be looked after.

The cattle continue on the heath into the spring where their selective grazing helps establish the heathland plant mosaic needed.

Late spring is also a time of vigil to look out for introduced plants that, if left to establish, will soon take over and destroy the heathland habitat.

In recent years, plants such as black spirea and reed canary grass have threatened. Strangely, Himalayan balsam also turned up this year. This is usually a pest of wetlands, not heaths, but it still had to go.

A little later, the exploits of rose bay willow herb have to be kept in check. While a native plant, which can form part of a heath mosaic, if left unchecked it would soon dominate the heath habitat.

Hence, a very high mow is organised just to take the tops off these flowers.

Then there is ragwort, which as we need to graze heaths, has to be removed from the cattle areas. If this list of practical chores is not bad enough, the rangers also have to contend with fly tipping, burnt out vehicles and arson, which can lay waste to such large areas of the hard fought for heath.

Come the end of August though, there is a reward for all this hard work. The heather spectacularly comes into bloom creating what I think has to be one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.

Huge areas of land turn a wonderful deep pink colour and the smell is rich and sweet.

The heather this year is more prolific than it has been for a decade, thus justifying that all the work being put in is having a real positive benefit to the lowland heath habitat of the district's heaths.

Why not step outside and enjoy them yourself this weekend?