Brayton Barff Through the Seasons.
Set in the Vale of York, South West of the market town of Selby and between the villages of Thorpe Willoughby and Brayton, lies Brayton Barff, a sandstone Hill approximately one hundred and fifty feet in height which was formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age. It is a significant landmark in an otherwise flat landscape.
Today the site is primarily owned by Yorkshire Water with Selby District Council owning a small patch of the land adjacent to the A63 Selby bypass. A large underground reservoir occupies the centre of the site which delivers water to around 4.7 million customers throughout Yorkshire.
Within the Barff woodland over 40% of the trees are Sessile Oak which are generally found in semi natural woodlands in the north of the country. These trees are so called because its acorns are not held on stalks, like those of the English Oak (Pedunculate), but attached directly to the outer twigs. There are also several English Oak trees as well as some cross-hybrid oaks. These trees are known to support many species of flora and fauna, invertebrates, mosses, lichen and fungi.
During the Victorian times it is thought that the shipbuilders on the east coast would come over to the Barff for selected cuts of timber to build their sea going vessels.
The Barff also has a variety of other trees including Silver Birch, Beech, Sycamore, Holly, Rowan, Scots Pine, Alder, Hawthorne and European Larch. There are also several Yew, Willow, Hazel, Horse Chestnut and Wych Elm. As with similar woodlands there are a variety of bushes, including Honeysuckle, Elderberry, Gorse, Broom and Buddleia.
The history of Brayton Barff is quite vague, apparently during 1803 a beacon was lit on the Barff when the country was threatened with an invasion by Napoleon. In May 1935, to celebrate King George V's Silver Jubilee, a Bonfire was lit on the Barff as part of the celebrations.
Early issues of Ordnance Survey Maps dated 1903 clearly show a rifle range on the Barff, extending out to Mill Lane. During the 
Second World War 1939-1945 a Prisoner of War Camp was built on the site. Today, nothing is left of these buildings less some areas to the South and West of the Barff where some of the brick foundations may be seen.
Between 2001 – 2004 the A63 Selby bypass, 10km twin lane single carriageway was constructed which severed the South West corner of the Barff, adjacent to Selby Golf Course and resulted in a slight redesign of several holes on the golf course. Wooden fencing was erected as a result of this new road running alongside of the Barff and a footbridge constructed over the ‘new road’ following the line of the Bridal way which extends from Mill Lane. Around 2005/2006 a definite 2metre wide limestone aggregate footpath was laid forming a circular path around the outer edges of the woodland. This footpath is approximately 1.2 miles in length and takes about 30 minutes to circumnavigate at a leisurely pace.
In 2012 the Barff was declared an Ancient Oak Woodland and as such throughout 2012 and 2013 significant work had been carried out by the relevant agencies to cut and remove large swathes of non-native trees, creating at that time huge scars on the landscape. Some three years later the planting of the native trees have become well established and are flourishing. Ongoing maintenance work on the footpath around the bottom of the Barff was completed during the Summer of 2016.
A second phase of woodland maintenance commenced during the Autumn of 2019 with the removal of many old and diseased trees and the cutting back of the Gorse and Broom bushes, especially adjacent to the ‘bypass trail’, this work continued through till March 2020 with re planting continuing into April 2020.
Brayton Barff is a popular site for walkers and bird watchers alike and a path circling the outer perimeter of the Barff makes a pleasant thirty minute walk, giving views looking over towards Selby and the village of Brayton as well as the power stations of Drax and Eggborough..jpg)
For the early risers it is a great place to see some stunning sunrises over the villages of Brayton looking towards Drax Power Station, the same with the Sunsets looking over towards Eggborough and Monk Fryston.
The Barff changes with the Seasons and every visit can reveal something new, the woodland is a haven for wildlife. Records show that since 1982 one hundred and twelve species of bird have been seen in the woodland and at least 40 of those have bred here, including Tawny Owl, Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher, Goldcrest and Nuthatch to name just a few. On average over 70 species of bird are recorded each year. Further details of the bird life on the Barff can be found on the Brayton Barff Group Facebook page, especially the posts from Derek Cooper. Today ‘The Friends of Brayton Barff group’ led by Derek and a small team of volunteers help keep and maintain the cleanliness of the site as well as recording the wildlife and bird sightings.
The Barff is also home to fifteen different species of mammals, including Muntjac Deer, Pipistrelle Bat, Fox, and Field Vole.
Over eighty species of plant and wildflowers have been recorded, included Bee Orchid, Northern Marsh Orchid, Wood Anemone, Marsh Ragwort, Bluebell, White Bluebell, Bittersweet and Purple and White Foxgloves. Over twenty species of Butterfly have been recorded, including Marbled White, Brown Angus, Speckled Wood, Comma and Brimstone.
During the Autumnal months fungi thrives in this woodland environment, species including Fly Agaric, Beefsteak Tree Fungi, Chicken of the Wood, Sulphur Tufts, Stinkhorn, Ink cap, Puffballs and Hoof Bracket are just some of the many varieties that can be found here.
Click on the galleries shown below to expand the albums.
February 2025
The first week of February saw a mixture of cold and frosty mornings and some lovely bright sunrises. The Greater Spotted Woodpecker has been busily drumming amongst the trees close to the car park, Birdsong has been beautiful this week. Great Tits, Blue Tits, Song Thrush, Robin and Mistle Thrush all competing for the title of chorist of the week. It was good to hear the yaffling of the Green Woodpecker on Monday 3rd close to the service road entrance. Yellow Brain Fungus continues to thrive in several places around the woodland, Hazel Catkins and Yellow flowering Gorse added plenty of colour along the Bypass Trail. Molehills seem to multiply day on day.
The Second week has been much duller, cloudier, and wetter than the first week, just slightly warmer than last week but we have seen very little sunshine. As we have walked around the Barff in the early morning it has been exceptionally dull, and quite black and white. Fortunately, this has not affected the birdsong around the woodland. I have heard Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush and Green Woodpecker very close to the car park area of the woodland which has lifted the spirits. Grey Squirrels are becoming more active and can be seen most mornings either sat on the wooden posts around the car park area or busily scratting amongst the leaf litter. More and more and more Bluebells are beginning to poke through, their tiny green shoots reminding us that Spring is just around the corner. Foxgloves to are beginning to grow all be at ground level, their large green leaves growing day by day. More molehills are appearing daily, I often wonder how the first mole managed to climb up to the top of Tap Hill!
It has been good to listen to the Mistle Thrush this past couple of weeks, it is often the first of our winter visitors to celebrate the onset of Spring. Its song is long and quite distinctive and will happily sit and sing through our dull, wet, and miserable weather. They have been known to stay till the Autumn. It is taller and slender than the Song Thrush and tends to jump across the ground in long bounding hops. They feed on insects and berries and use their rattly call to defend its ownership of a berry laden tree.
The third week of February continued much like that of the previous week, mainly dull, grey, and overcast, with morning temperatures between 4c – 11c. The Yellow weather warning for most of the country on Sunday 23rd did not materialise in our part of the county. The tracks and trails around the Barff have remained wet and muddy all week with and a lot of standing water in the surrounding fields. The slightly milder weather has seen patches of tiny green shoots of Bluebells appearing through the leaf litter and the Elderberry bushes are just beginning to leaf up. Bird song has continued to be loud and vociferous with noticeable performances from the Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush, although the Robin, Wren and Great Tit have all played a significant part in the daily dawn chorus. The Greater Spotted Woodpecker seems to have settled close to the service road entrance, being heard most days drumming away.
As the month draws to a close, we have seen a week of variable weather, from cold and frosty mornings to heavy rain mornings and finally the odd bright and sunny morning. One of the main constants throughout the week, despite what the weather puts our way, has been the resilience of the birdsong on the Barff, especially from the Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush. The Mistle Thrush is the larger of the two and despite the inclement weather it has been present every morning blasting out its melodic tunes. That said, the Song Thrush can certainly hit all the right notes too, its rich melody of musical phases which it tends to repeat many times over is a joy to listen to, especially on a wet and raining walk through the woodland. One of the contributing factors that the bird song is so vibrant at this time of year is that the breeding season is upon us and the male birds are busily showing off to the females, hoping to attract a mate. Many of the bird boxes dotted around the woodland close to the perimeter footpath will soon be occupied. It is nice to see clusters of Daffodils coming into flower around the woodland and especially on the top of Tap Hill, a sure sign that Spring is just around the corner. Irises are now flowering too around the plaque on the top meadow. The last two days of the month have been cold, dry, and bright, the early morning sunshine certainly lifts the spirits and transforms the woodland, lets hope it continues into the Spring.
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