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.
Sunday 31st August 2025
The last month of Summer started with a slight drop in the morning temperatures and the first week of August was decidedly cooler, I had some dull and overcast morning walks with Meg and Gracie, with early morning temperatures hovering around 14c, rising to 20c-22c by mid-afternoon. Storm Floris visited us for a couple of days over the fourth and fifth with a yellow weather warning for strong winds over our part of North Yorkshire. Fortunately, the winds only reached 20mph – 25 mph and although the storm brought a lot of twigs, leaf litter down and acorns, there does not appear to have been any significant damage to the old trees. There has been a lot of ‘Beefsteak’ fungi emerging on several of the Barff’s aging Oak trees as well as ‘Chicken of the Woods’ fungi too. It looks to have been a good year for Sloe berries which have been growing along the bypass trail (golf club side), the Blackthorn bushes on the Barff side were heavily forested last year so there was little to no fruit on them.
Construction work on the top meadow continues apace with heavy plant equipment brought in to clear the brambles, level the area and dig some deep holes. The area has now been fenced off with a large privacy screen surrounding the site, big diggers have been busy as has a huge piling machine, I have read that this work and disturbance will continue for up to three years!
Birdsong has been relatively lively around the woodland but more so close to the car park, with Robin, Wren, and Wood Pigeon the main vocalists, though Chaffinch, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff and Blue Tit can still be heard most days. The Buzzard continues to be active especially around the old pump house.
The shortage of rain during August continues to be a significant problem for our part of North Yorkshire, with a hosepipe ban still in place. Yorkshire Water have just published some interesting facts ‘Despite the reduction in water use and leakage being at its lowest ever level this summer, reservoir stocks dropped during mid-August to 42.2%, well below the average of 74.8%, and the lowest they have ever been at this time of year after an extremely dry 2025. Since the hosepipe restrictions were implemented in July, domestic water usage has decreased by 10% - which is the equivalent to 35 million litres per day. Average water demand over the last seven days in Yorkshire has been almost 1.3 billion litres per day, resulting in a drop in reservoir stocks to 42.2%.
The heatwave continued through the middle of August with temperatures averaging around 30c every day for several days. Surprisingly, fungi continue to thrive with new Chicken of the Wood and Beefsteak fungi appearing frequently, even clusters of Sulphur Tuft have been shooting up overnight. The Barff is starting to look quite dry with many of the ferns and nettles alongside the perimeter footpath now covered in a thick layer of dust.
I was on the Barff for 6.00am on Saturday 16th which happened to be a dull, grey, and humid morning 18c with light drizzle in the air but what was noticeable was the smell of burning peat which was blowing over from the Langdale and Farndale moors which have been on fire for the last couple of weeks, some 70 miles away to the north of us. As the month comes to a close and depending on the wind direction the smoke and smog can still be smelt in our area! I doubt until we have some significant rainfall these moorland fires will continue for some considerable time.
The lack of rain on the Barff is worrying in that the Oak trees are beginning to shed their leaves early, many of the leaves are turning a golden-brown colour, before they fall, similarly the Silver Birch trees are shedding their leaves at an alarming rate. Elderberry bushes continue to die back much earlier than they should be doing, their fruit is very much under developed as is the Bramble fruit and the berries on the Dogwood bushes have been underdeveloped too. Large swathes of Bracken are beginning to die back much sooner than it should be for this time of year.
After a week of dull and grey cloudy skies, the Bank holiday Monday (25th) was a dry, bright, and sunny morning, with the temperature hovering around 15c at 6.45am. Birdsong was vibrant again, and not as muted as it has been recently with Long Tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Great Tit, Crow, Wren, Wood Pigeon, and Robin being particularly vocal especially between the old farm shop and the car park area. The Buzzard could be heard high above the old pumping station.
Although generally regarded as a pest, I have been watching several Grey Squirrels this past couple of weeks on the Barff, scampering around amongst the leaf litter, before suddenly adopting a low profile and running vertically up a tree trunk at breakneck speed! They have been notably absent for quite a while until now and with what looks like a substantial crop of acorns this year, they should be able to stash them away and survive the cooler winter months ahead.
With Autumn around the corner, I often recall a letter written by the Victorian novelist George Eliot (Miss) in 1841 to one of her friends: ‘Is this not a true autumn day?’ she asked rhetorically.’ Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonize. The birds are consulting about their migrations; the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay… Delicious autumn! My very sole is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.’
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