Brayton Barff - Stephen H Forsey Photography

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.

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.

Tuesday 2nd October 2018

Well here we are in Autumn and the colours on the Barff at the moment are quite stunning and even more so when the sun shines.

I had been up and out with the dogs at 7.00am this morning as usual, it was a mild start to the day but very wet underfoot due to the overnight rain, I’d had a good walk returning home around 8.30am with two tired dogs ready for their breakfast. I had to go out on business for the rest of the morning returning home just after lunch. By now the sun was shining bright, the temperature was a barmy 15C so I picked up Meg & Gracie and headed back out onto the Barff with the camera to try and capture some of the Autumnal colours. With the onset of winter and the shorter days our morning walks at the moment are starting in the dark between 6.30am and 7.00am depending on what the morning weather is like and returning home anytime after 8.00am. So it was nice to go out again at a more sociable time and in broad daylight.

It was nice to hear and see the Buzzard again this afternoon, it is normally being hounded by the crows when I see it in the morning but at the moment it was able to soar and circle around the top of the Barff to its hearts content. Another thing I noticed was the large amount and variety of fungus around the Barff, this is I suppose is to be expected with the weather we have being having recently. It is certainly thriving on the woodland floor and on the trunks of many of the rotting trees, the Fly Agaric is especially colourful at the moment. It is quite remarkable when you think I come up here every day come rain or shine with the dogs and on every visit your eye catches something that you haven’t seen before all be it a different fungus or wild flower, I cannot understand why and how the yellow ragwort is still in flower at the moment as are patches of purple clover and Toadflax. The most striking sight though is how quickly the ferns are dying back, turning a lovely golden brown colour. It is a shame that the bramble bushes haven’t started to die back yet and in places note that bramble runners are still shooting up and occasionally providing a nasty scratch on the back of your hand or arm as you brush past them, it looks to have been a very good year for the fruit though I haven’t seen as much wild fruit as this for many years.

It was nice to hear the Chiffchaff calling amongst the bushes near to the pump house, and the high pitched call of the Long Tailed Tits around the Barff. Robins seem to be thriving popping up alongside the trail just as they do on my early morning walk, Blue Tits and Chaffinch are still very active and can be seen bobbing up and down as they fly from tree to tree in search of food. The distinctive call of the Wrens can be heard all over the Barff and more so amongst the dense thicket on the Bramble bushes.

I was quite surprised as to how quiet is was on the Barff today, I don’t normally pop up here as early as this in the afternoon but the car park looked relatively quiet as we walked past. The most striking part about the walk this afternoon though was the beautiful colours of the trees as they start to shut down in preparation for the onset of the colder winter months, the golden browns and yellows looked quite stunning especially when dappled with the afternoon sun light. Let’s hope we can enjoy this afternoon sunlight for a few more days.