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.
Friday 31st October 2025
Autumn is one of my favourite months of the year, and this October the trees on the Barff never fail to put on a fine spectacular and colourful display, despite the changeable extremes of weather. There is such a lot going on in the woodland as the trees prepare themselves for the colder winter months, birds too are busy preparing for the colder weather, some returning to the uk to escape the harsher weather in the northern hemisphere whilst others head south for the warmer weather. It has also been a bumper year for acorns and fungi too.
This year October got off to quite a lively start with heavy rain, strong winds and ‘Storm Amy’ which brought 20mph – 25mph westerly winds over the Barff area, fortunately within a couple of days the wind had blown itself out with minimal damage to the woodland. Despite the autumnal rainfall the hosepipe ban continues for our part of North Yorkshire the reservoirs are still critically low at around 32% full which is well below the 72% capacity for this time of year, a legacy from the dry spring and the hottest summer on record.
As well as the beautiful kaleidoscope of autumnal colours around the woodland which has brightened even the dullest of days, the other significant change this month has been the huge amount of emerging fungi that has been shooting up amongst the woodland’s undergrowth. Ancient woodlands like the Barff are rich in fungi, it plays a crucial role in the ecosystem of the trees within the Barff area. Fungi are essential for the decomposition of dead wood and leaf litter; they release nutrients back into the soil which are vital for plant growth. They also interact with trees, providing protection from pathogens and transferring nutrients between trees. The presence of fungi on the Barff is a testament to their importance in maintaining the health and sustainability of these ecosystems.
On my daily walks around the Barff at this time of year, it has not been uncommon for me to see between ten to fifteen different varieties of fungi in a day. Some of the more common species include Sulphur Tuft, Beefsteak, Shaggy Parasol, Birch Polypore, Turkey tail, Jelly Ear, Brown Roll Rim, Fly Agaric, Rosy Bonnet, Honey Mushrooms, and the delicate thin stemmed Fairy Inkcaps, to name just a few.
As well as the fungi we have had a bumper crop of Acorns this year, many brought down a little earlier than normal due to the winds from ‘Storm Amy.’ The track passing under the old Oak swing tree has been quite precarious of late due to the ground being on a slope and covered in fallen acorns, you certainly must tread carefully to remain upright. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of information stored inside the little acorn; the fuel and energy it uses to grow into a huge and mature tree is quite remarkable. The Oak tree can reach heights of over thirty metres (100ft). It is not so much its height though but its girth that gives the Oak tree its true age. We are very fortunate that the Barff has been designated an area of ancient woodland and to put this in to some form of perspective the trunk of an Oak tree with a girth of 5.5m (18ft) in circumference suggests that it was an acorn around the time of the Civil War in the middle of the seventeenth century (1642). An Oak tree with a girth measuring 8m (26ft) would have been an Acorn around the time of the Black Death (around 1348), which is quite a sobering thought. To reach these ages the Oak tree must contend with an awful lot, tests and experiments have shown that an average Oak tree can shed some 10,000 acorns a year, of those only 20 will germinate into healthy seedlings, whilst the vast majority will be predated by animals such as the Jay and Grey Squirrels or insects. Others will fall foul to the extremes of weather, so, we really do need to look after our Oak trees for future generations.
Pink-footed Geese have been flying over the Barff for several weeks now, arriving back into this country from Iceland and Eastern Greenland. They usually arrive from mid-September having made their annual journey from their breeding grounds to spend the winter in the UK at some of our local nature reserves including Fairburn Ings, St Aidens, Barlow Common and a little further afield at the North Cave wetland reserve, to escape the harsh arctic winters of Iceland and Greenland.
High pressure has dominated the second week of October, with dull, cool, and misty mornings, with very little wind or sunshine. This dull and cloudy weather is primarily due to a meteorological phenomenon known as an anticyclonic gloom, which occurs when a high-pressure system settles over the country, causing air to sink and trap moisture near the surface, resulting in persistent low clouds and light drizzle. The lack of sunshine and strong winds makes the situation worse in that it prevents the clouds from dispersing and breaking through.
Yellow weather warnings were in place over the weekend commencing Friday 24th with storm Benjamin arriving in the county bringing with it strengthening winds and heavy rain, fortunately our part of the county escaped most of the bad weather and other than a lot of leaf litter on the Barff that was it. (Most of the bad weather being confined to the east coast)
Towards the latter part of the month the morning temperatures have dropped to single figures around 7.00am, making it much cooler than earlier in the month, if it continues, I will soon have to get my winter jacket and hat out! The clocks went back on the 26th which has made it light again at 7.00am, though within a few weeks’ time it will be dark again by 8.00am. As October draws to a close the weather has become more unsettled and changeable, despite the weather the Autumnal colours on the Barff this past week especially have been exceptional, be it a dull and gloomy morning or a bright and sunny day the Barff’s autumnal palette of colours has been quite magical and never ending.
As I mentioned earlier It has been a bumper month for fungi with several species preferring certain areas in the woodland whilst others can be found just about anywhere amongst the fallen leaf litter. Birdsong has remained vibrant throughout October, with Robin, Wren, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinch, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Magpies and Jays being heard daily, though when it is wet and quite unpleasant, they can be quite slow to come out and give us a song, and who can blame them. The woodland never sleeps and with November just around the corner it will be exciting to see what turns up on our doorstep.
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