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 30th April 2026
Here is my monthly observations from Brayton Barff whilst out with Meg and Gracie my two faithful companions.
As April comes to an end I cannot believe we are a third of the way through 2026, where has that time gone? Despite some lovely bright blue skies, it has been bitterly cold at times with several frosts especially during the beginning of April, reminding us to keep our bedding plants under glass for the time being. It has certainly been a month of April showers closely followed by some welcome warm sunshine which has seen afternoon temperatures reach 20c by the end of the month. It has been a month of change; the trees have finally come out of their winter hibernation, buds started appearing at the beginning of the month and now as the month draws to a close their leaves have added some welcome colour and redefined the shape of the tree canopy. Rowan trees were probably the first to come in to bud and are now fully leafed up and flowering. Willow trees are covered in Catkins as are the Sycamore trees, and several of the Elm trees are covered in blossom. The Oak trees seem to be the last of the Barff trees to come in to leaf. April on the Barff though is really all about the Bluebells, which have been a picture this year. I have had a few early starts with Meg and Gracie just recently and have been on the Barff around 6.00am, the sweet scent from the Bluebells drifts across the still, morning air.
The verges of the perimeter footpath are awash with wildflowers, Lesser Celandine has been flowering all month, their tiny yellow florets providing a welcome food source for the insects and bees which have been quite active throughout April, sadly by the end of the month they have started to die back. Wood Anemone’s on the other hand have struggled badly this year, I know of only two or three small patches around the Barff where they were growing nicely throughout February and March and by mid-April had started to flower, sadly, shortly after they had started to flower, Roe deer had come along and taken a fancy to them by nibbling the tops of them all! Garlic Mustard is shooting up and has been flowering all April and will continue flowering into July. Cow Parsley is shooting up too and will continue to grow well into the summer months, as I write this update it is beginning to smother the Bluebells, Hogweed continues to shoot up along the verges of the perimeter path and many of the smaller tracks which crisscross the woodland, currently standing at approx. 30cm in height, by summer it will have grown to over two metres in height (Care should be taken if handling or brushing up against the Hogweed in order to avoid potential skin irritation and other health issues). Large patches of Red Dead and white Nettles are currently in flower, their tiny pink/red florets a welcome food source for the butterflies and insects. The Blackthorn bushes especially along the bypass trail have been a picture this year, their petalled florets stood out like beacons either side of the footpath/bridal way, sadly by mid-April the blossom had all but gone, though it should be a good year for the Sloe berries! The Cherry Blossom trees dotted around the woodland have been beautiful this year their lush pink and white blossom provided lots of additional colour even on the dullest of Spring mornings. Hawthorn is blossoming nicely as are the Black Cherry and Apple trees along the Bypass trail. The Foxgloves which have been quite dormant over the winter months have shot up during April, and by mid May will be laden with their trump like florets. Dandelions along the perimeter path have been flowering daily adding additional colour to the woodland, and Dock and Plantain has been growing well along the verges of the tracks. Creeping Buttercup continues to creep and grow along the verges; it should be in full flower next month. Bushes of wild Honeysuckle have been growing for several months now, and I am looking forward to the morning when it starts to flower and its sweet scent drifts across the morning air on the Barff. As the month draws to a close the top meadow is coming into life, early shoots of the Bee and Marsh Orchid are just showing, Cow slips are flowering along with Germander Speedwell and Ground Ivy.
Work behind the security fencing is continuing and will be for a number of months yet. Work will be starting in early May to sink another bore hole. Sadly, I noted that around the 25th April the two old Sycamore trees had been to make way for the additional bore hole.
No sooner were the Bluebells in full flower around the middle of April then the Nettles, Garlic Mustard, Cow Parsley and Ferns were starting to outgrow them (accompanied by the creeping Brambles). The show of Bluebells this year appears to be getting less and less each year, partly due to the lack of woodland maintenance in controlling the spread of the invading brambles. A number of years ago several ‘firebreaks’ were reestablished and as a result the Bluebells flourished in these clearings, unfortunately within the last ten years these firebreaks have grown over with Nettle and Bramble resulting in a total loss of Bluebells in these areas. If nothing is done about it the Bluebells will continue to disappear and the woodland will become totally overgrown with Brambles!
Birdsong on the Barff never fails to lift the spirits and puts a smile on my face; all our resident birds are busily collecting nesting material for their impending new families, with many of the bird boxes being occupied. It was good to hear and see the first Willow Warbler of the year return to the Barff on Wednesday 8th April, after their mammoth flight from Sub Saharan Africa, and a couple of weeks later on Saturday 25th April the Garden Warbler returned, I love listening to its warbling song
The Buzzard continues to be active around the Barff and old pump house. Robins continue to chaperone me through the trees, they are never far away, when I stop to take a photograph or tend to one of the dogs, one will often come down and land on a tree branch next to me to say hello. Nuthatch and Chiffchaff have been exceptionally vocal, the Chiffchaff greeting me most mornings as I arrive on the Barff, though after an hour or so its monotonous call does get a little waring on the ear. I am not hearing the Greater Spotted Woodpecker as often as I did earlier this month, they, I hope will be sitting on their nests at this time awaiting the arrival of their tiny fledging’s which will be due anytime. As April comes to a close I have been watching several blackbirds feeding their young chicks, the chicks often as large as our bigger than their parent bird. I am still hearing between eighteen to twenty different birdsongs whilst on the Barff.
The Grey Squirrels are very active around the woodland be it high up running and playing amongst the tree canopy or scavenging amongst the deep leaf litter searching for food, I haven’t yet seen any of their kits yet though I expect they will start showing themselves later next month.
It has been good to see that most of the surrounding fields have been ploughed and sewn with their summer crops, I am fascinated by the straightness of the furrows. The Oilseed rape field has been in flower all month, I don’t expect it to be ready for harvesting till late June early July time, weather permitting.
The latter part of the month has been exceptionally warm from lunch time with temperatures fluctuating between 12c – 20c most afternoons, resulting in a high number of butterflies emerging into the warm sunlight on the Barff, including Large White, Peacock, Orange tipped, Brimstone and Small white, are all clearly visible be it on the Bluebells, Cherry blossom or Hawthorn blossom.
Looking ahead to May, I am looking forward to watching the Orchids come in to flower on the Barff, along with the red and white flowering Campion and Cornflowers too. I haven’t heard a Cuckoo yet on the Barff this year, I only heard a couple last year just passing through, so I hope they stay a little longer this year. Green Woodpecker, Swifts, Swallows and House Martins should be returning anytime, finally, I am looking forward to hearing all the ‘squeaky trees’ housing all this year’s chicks, so lots to look forward to in May.
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