3 days ago
Yorkshire's best wildflower meadows to visit this summer
Amy Cooper of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust suggests Yorkshire's best wildflower meadows to visit this summer
JULY is the peak of summertime glory. Warm summer days are punctuated by the hum of insects; our butterflies and moths fluttering their way through our grassy green spaces and bees buzzing in search of nectar. Birds dance their way through gloriously blue skies, and many of our mammals emerge to bask in the summer sun.
Yorkshire's meadows and grasslands come alive in summer too. Orchids burst into being in a riot of sculptural colour, bellflowers, plantain and field scabious turn their faces to the skies, and globeflowers spread out across fields in a sunny spectacle. Hoards of butterflies and moths flutter in amongst the stems, as skylarks sing their hearts out overhead.
Rich in variety, grassland meadows, hay meadows and floodplain meadows have unique wildlife that relies upon subtly different habitat to survive. The recent State of Yorkshire's Nature report also found that meadows formed on limestone and wetland landscapes are key wildlife habitats in Yorkshire. These protect our most important Yorkshire Stronghold Species, those found in few or no other place, and give a home to many Species of Conservation Concern.
Wildflower meadows are often found on areas of poor soil, usually those which have never been ploughed or had fertiliser added. Many of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's spectacular wildflower reserves have steep valley sides, impractical for ploughing or agriculture, and are carefully managed through conservation grazing with enigmatic Highland cattle or Hebridean sheep.
Tragically, the UK has lost 97% of wildflower meadows in the last 90 years, as farming practices have changed and towns and villages have expanded to swallow up flower-rich fields. Thankfully, many farmers, conservation charities and communities work hard to maintain and restore these now rare and precious species-rich habitats for wildlife.
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Seek out and ramble through pastel-coloured fields this summer and see what butterflies, moths, beetles and birds you can spot. Here are Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's top wildflower meadow reserves to visit this summer:
North Yorkshire: Ingleborough's gorgeous wildflower displays are at their peak at Ashes Pasture, Ashes Shaw and Bellfield's Pasture, with everything from small white orchids and ragged robin to fields of yellow globeflowers and sweet-smelling wild thyme. Some of our rarest wildflowers can be spotted here, including purple saxifrage and Yorkshire sandwort.
In the Vale of York, visit Staveley nature reserve's expansive wildflower meadows – often bright yellow in the summer. It's the perfect backdrop to the friendly visiting barn owl often spotted on-site. You may also spot orchids and daisies around the wetland pools, accompanied by blue butterflies and jewel-like damselflies.
East Yorkshire: Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit and nearby Wharram Quarry are fantastic examples of the amazing habitat old quarries can provide for wildlife. Butterflies including the distinctive marbled whites flutter every which way and make these reserves the perfect special experience for those willing to tarry a while in the sheltered valley and enjoy some warm weather in the heart of the Wolds. Pyramidal, twayblade and common spotted-orchids bloom and stand to attention, along with common and greater knapweed, field scabious, harebell and lady's bedstraw, all in harmonious contrast to the white of the bedrock.
If you do visit a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust meadow, please leave the plants as you've found them, and just take photos to remember your visit (and don't forgot to share them with us!) Alternatively, you can buy a set of our beautiful Ingleborough wildflower pin badges that directly support our conservation work restoring meadows up at Ingleborough in the Dales:
