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.
September 2020
I quite like this time of year on the Barff, it is a month of change, the trees start their closing down process in preparation of winter, the days start to shorten and the temperature drops.
The month started with some very heavy early morning dews on the Barff, I can remember as a child walking to school after the long summer holidays and my feet would be wet through by the time I arrived through the school gates, from walking across wet grass.
September began with a ridge of high pressure over the county which was quite nice for several days, unfortunately it didn’t last for long as patchy rain was brought across on the strengthening westerly winds which tend to dominate this part of North Yorkshire. The middle of the month was dry and warm though and we had some lovely early morning sunrises. Towards the end of the month the fine weather was replaced with strengthening winds and more unsettled weather, in fact on the 24th several areas of the county were hit with very heavy hailstorm showers, fortunately they completely missed the Selby area.
The farmers were eventually able to get their crops harvested earlier in the month, several of the fields surrounding the Barff were full of corn which should have been harvested during August but due to the wet and unseasonable weather were unable to get onto the land, by the end of the month they were able to get their winter wheat sown.
On the Barff, the dawn chorus is quietening down, many of the Warblers will be getting ready to migrate later in the month, Nuthatch, Blue Tits, Chaffinch, Robin and Wrens are still plentiful, most of them staying on the Barff over the winter months. Wildflowers are still plentiful, lots of Ribwort coming into flower at the moment, along with Knapweed, Cranesbill and Yarrow. Fungi is starting to thrive, towards the middle of September I found some Fly Agaric and by the end as it was passing its best I found another two areas where it was also growing, lots of Puffball fungi are all over the place at the moment along with some small patches of Sulphur Tuft.
One of the nicest parts of the morning walk around the Barff at this time of year are the early morning Sunrises, with some beautiful orange/red skies towards the villages of Brayton, Barlow and Drax to the East of the County.
It looks to have been a bumper year for acorns, the strengthening winds towards the end of the month brought a lot of them down, the area around the old Oak swing tree especially, so much so that extreme care had to be taken walking under the tree otherwise you could easily end up on your back, it was like walking on a sheet of marbles at times. The Grey Squirrels look to have had a productive year on the Barff, there aren’t many mornings when I haven’t heard or seen the young kits calling in the trees. Although much bigger than our native Red Squirrel, they are still fairly agile and we often stop to watch as two or three squirrels at a time can be chasing each other up and down the tree trunks before heading higher up into the tree canopy to continue their chasing game amongst the tree branches, at the same time letting out a high pitch screeching sound.
Nettles, Brambles and Ferns which were still growing at the beginning of the month have began to die back a little, some of the Ferns are beginning to get golden fringes of the tips of their leaves, Foxgloves have passed their best too though one or two are still in flower at the moment. Elderberry and Rowan berries are plentiful at the moment but no sooner have they started to ripen then the birds eat them, a valuable source of nutrition late on in their season.
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