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.
Monday 6th November 2017
An early start today, I was actually on the Barff with Meg & Gracie just after 6.30am this morning.
We had our first hard overnight frost of the autumn and there was a strong Haw on the long grasses and leaves that were exposed to the elements. The light was just beginning to break behind Drax power station in the distance. It was bitterly cold at minus 2C which made a refreshing change from the wet and humid mornings of late, a few more hard frosts would nicely dry up all the squelchy mud underfoot along the pathways through the woodland. This autumn the colours on the Barff have been quite stunning, it is a shame that the strong winds that we had last week brought a lot of the leaves down quite prematurely. It was a quiet walk this morning and with the exception of a couple of joggers I never spoke to anyone else whilst on the walk. We arrived home just after 8.00am had breakfast, the dogs settled down for their morning sleep and I spent the morning editing pictures that I had taken several weeks ago whilst photographing Red Squirrels up in Hawes. By lunchtime the sun was shining nicely and although still cold outside the colours of the trees in the garden were looking lovely, so without further ado I picked up the camera and dogs and headed back to the Barff for a lunchtime stroll. The car park area was quite busy with like-minded people. It was nice to see the Barff in all its glory, the sun was shining nicely, the colours of the trees, the oak leaves turning a brown golden colour, the mountain ash the same and the holly bushes are quite full of red berries too, I noticed the gorse bushes alongside the bypass trail beginning to flower with little yellow florets. It was nice to see and hear the Nuthatches calling amongst the trees this lunchtime, Grey Squirrels sempt to be all over the place, at one stage along the walk I was watching three of them running round and round a tree trunk, up and down then jumping across from one tree to another with complete ease and what appears so little effort. They should be quite comfortable food wise this winter with what seems to be a bumper crop of Acorns. A little further along the ‘middle path’ a pair of Green Woodpecker were calling to each other near the pump house, I don’t normally hear them as far round the Barff as this, they tend to stay around the farm shop area of the woods. I could hear the tiny screeching call of the Long Tailed Tits hiding somewhere amongst the trees, I love these birds, the pinkish flashes on the sides of their bodies make them look really classy birds. Chaffinch and Robins seem to continuously follow me around the Barff or should I say I follow them, they are always in front of me and the two white flashes either side of the chaffinches tail feathers are quite distinctive as they flit from one tree to another. I stopped for a few minutes near the field with the horses in to listen and watch a Greater Spotted Woodpecker busily chipping into a dead tree stump in its search for food. There is still lots of fungi about with plenty of puffball around the floor amongst the bracken which is dying back now. I joined the main path again near the farm shop and followed it back to the car park, the midday sun shining onto the tree either side of the path provided a beautiful picture of golden browns and yellows and greens. A beautiful colourful walk, I could do with a few more days like this before the frost brings down the remaining leaves of the Autumn.
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