Red Squirrels

It was purely by chance that one evening in 2013/2014 I was watching a television programme about Wensleydale - an area of the Yorkshire Dales. Part of the programme featured a Wildlife photographer called Simon Phillpotts who specialised in filming Red Squirrels in the area. After several telephone calls and emails, I contacted Simon and went up to visit his site in Wensleydale.

The sight of a native Red Squirrel in and around my home town is practically none existent, they were wiped out by the larger Grey Squirrels when they were introduced into the country during the eighteenth century. A lack of food, disease and change in farming techniques saw the demise of the Reds. Fortunately, once this was realised many plans and conservation schemes were put in place to provide a suitable habitat to reintroduce them back into the wild and today as well as Wensleydale, they can be found in parts of the Lake District, Northumberland, and the South Coast around Brownsea Island.

The Yorkshire Dales is playing an important part in this conservation programme and the National Park Authority designated several areas of woodlands and reserves to help protect and preserve the remaining population.

After many years Simon left the area and it was taken over by Paul Fowlie a professional wildlife photographer

There are several other important organisations around this area which are completely dedicated to preserving this wonderful native creature in its natural environment. Details of these schemes and information on specific ‘Red Squirrel trails’ can be found online and in the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes.

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