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.
Thursday 31st July 2025.
The weather has been very humid throughout July, with afternoon temperatures rising to the mid 30’s during the afternoon. The county has been declared in a drought situation, with Yorkshire seeing only 15cm of rainfall between February and June resulting in our reservoirs being only 56% full compared to 82% at this time of year. The hosepipe ban has now been in force for over three weeks and shows no signs of being lifted for the foreseeable future. Despite the dry weather, yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms and heavy torrential downpours had been issued by the meteorological office over the weekend commencing Friday 18th July, which saw over two inches of rain fall in a twenty-four-hour period on the woodland and surrounding areas. On Sunday 20th our morning walk on the Barff was wet with twigs and debris washed down from the summit leaving deep rivulets cut into the sandy ground where the water had flowed, leaving large sandy frothy puddles of water dotted around the woodland. That said within a couple of days the Barff had dried out and all signs of the heavy rain were soon forgotten. The warmer humid weather has seen an increase in fungi popping up around the woodland, Chicken of the Wood can be seen in several places as well as Beefsteak fungi and various varieties of Turkey tail fungus too.
The top meadow has changed significantly from the start of the month, St John’s Wort, Creeping Cinquefoil and Creeping Buttercup provided lots of ground cover and covered the meadow in a huge yellow blanket for several weeks, alas as the month comes to an end this has all died back along with the Creeping Thistles. Despite looking I have been unable to find any Bee Orchids this year. Foxgloves have put on a good show this year as have Rosebay Willowherb, the Blackthorn bushes along the Bypass trail have produced lots of Sloe berries and several of the apple trees along the golf course side of the bypass trail are currently ladened with fruit.
As we walked up the tarmac service road to the summit, we would often see several Rabbits playing on the edges of the Bramble patch enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning sunshine, they quickly disappearing amongst the Brambles as we walked past. Alas the summit is now seeing some significant changes with the Contractors moving in and securing much of the central part of the meadow with temporary fencing. Ground work commenced once the area had been fenced of, huge diggers have been brought in to remove and clear the Bramble patches and level the area off as well as dig some deep explorative holes. Further round the Barff it has been good to see that many of the deep holes which had been mindlessly dug on the heathland have now been filled in. Patches of Ragwort are still in flower around the woodland and add an additional colour to the landscape. Acorns are growing nicely on the older Oak trees, some now the size of my thumb nail, Bramble fruit looks to have struggled a bit due mainly to the lack of rain, though since the weekend of the 18th when we had a downpour they look to have filled out and as they ripen look quite edible.
Birdsong has been significantly muted of late; Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Crow, and Wood Pigeon can be heard most mornings and occasionally the Buzzard will give us a flypast. On a couple of occasions, I have heard and seen a Green Woodpecker at close quarters up on the Barff summit, yaffling as it flew over my head to its mate deep in the tree canopy.
Tiny holes from the Bank Voles and Molehills are appearing at an alarming rate on the woodland floor, especially along the narrow tracks. The long strands of spider’s webs can be a little irritating on the dry, humid mornings, especially when you walk through one and it gets stuck on your face and hair, it is a little early for their courtship which usually starts in the Autumn.
It has been good to see increasing numbers of butterflies on the Barff of late, especially from mid-morning, Large White, Red Admiral have taken advantage of the Spear and Creeping Thistles, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma butterflies have favoured the flowering Buddleia and the Painted Lady favouring the flowering Ragwort.
I was pleased to see the Wheat field opposite the car park has finally been harvested and bailed. Many of the crop fields surrounding the woodland have been supplemented with additional water due to the lack of rain but looking quite lush. July was the fifth warmest July since records began, lets hope the warm weather continues into August and that we see some rain, preferably through the night!
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