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.
Tuesday 16th October 2018
I was up reasonably early this morning and out with Meg & Gracie walking round Brayton Barff at 6.30am. It was very dark and wet; it always seems darker when it’s raining as the rain tends to absorb the white light of the torch beam. I had only been walking for about fifteen minutes and must have startled a Tawny Owl, I had heard it calling to its mate about 5 minutes earlier some 20 – 30 yards to the right of me, Meg and Gracie had probably scared them with their illuminated collars! It was nice to hear them though; I scanned the trees and bushes in the general direction of the calling hoping to catch a sight of them, I thought the light from my headlamp might be able to pick them out in the undergrowth but to no avail, a short time later I heard a higher pitched call of the Buzzard which I have to say sounded quite scary in the dark gloom of the morning and haunted me for the rest of the walk. By the time I came off the Barff just before 8.00am, the rain had abated thank goodness and it was quite light. I had a business meeting at 9.30am this morning, so it was a quick turnaround once we got home and out for the rest of the morning. After a good productive meeting I returned home around 12.30pm to wall to wall sunshine, no sign of the rain earlier in the day. After being sat down all morning I had to get out the house to stretch the legs and clear the head so I picked up Meg & Gracie and headed off to the Barff for another walk in the afternoon sunshine. The autumnal colours look absolutely amazing at the moment, the Oak leaves especially are a beautiful golden brown colour and with the remnants of the rain glisten in the sunlight.
It has been a bumper year for fungi too; I don’t recall a year as good as this for a long time, the warm humid weather we have had recently aiding its growth. ‘Fly Agaric’ pops up all over the Barff, on the edges of the footpaths and especially under the big Oak tree on the ‘army camp’ area of the Barff. The majority of the old and decaying Silver Birch trees have one fungus or another growing from their rotten trunks and branches, especially the ‘ Polypore’ and ‘Common Earthball’. Amongst the fallen leaves are clumps of ‘Sulphur Tuft’ and ‘Bitter Poison pie’ just to name a few.
I kept my ears open for the Tawny Owls this afternoon but all was quiet, no doubt they will have spotted me though, the Buzzard was still quite active and airborne, I watched him on two occasions as we walked through the woodland, the second viewing he was getting well mobbed by the crows!
It is nice to see some of the holly bushes with some red berries on at the moment. There are lots of mature and well-seasoned holly bushes around the Barff and over the many years I have been walking around the woodland have noticed that the holly was never very fruitful. I presumed that all the Holly on the Barff was either all male or all female varieties, so without any male holly bushes nearby, the female holly bushes would not produce berries. Obviously this year my theory has gone through the window.
The woodland fern is also shutting down for the winter months with its leaves turning a golden yellow colour before disintegrating onto the woodland floor, as are the nettles, they have been very prolific this year, in places they have grown to around 6ft in height, especially around the perimeter fence around the top of the Barff.
The highlight this time of year has to be the trees, especially the Oak and Silver birch trees, their fallen leaves forming a golden and brown blanket on the woodland floor. If we get a few more overnight frosts and some wet and windy weather the trees will soon be bare of all the leaves and we will then be waiting for the onset of winter.
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