Wykeham Forest

 Wykeham Forest is often overlooked by those thrill-seekers looking for ready made, often gaudy, visitor attractions like waymarked routes for walkers and cyclists, play parks, picnic benches (with barbeque's !!), aeriel zip wires, coffee shops, plus car park and entry fees !!

 
Winter sunrise, south east from North Moor (SE94988632)

Wykeham Forest has none of these (including the gaudy thrill seekers!) and is therefore far superior to it's near neighbour.

Apart from my obvious bias, as I live in the forest, here are a few of the benefits of straying off the beaten track.
  • Less people
  • More space
  • Less noise
  • More wildlife
This page is a taster, just a few of the many photographs taken in the woods over the years. There are lots of other pictures throughout the blog. If you want to see more, please search for "Wykeham Forest" in the Search This Blog  box to the right - enjoy...

Wykeham Forest is run on a day to day basis by the Forestry Commission, but much of the land is leased from a couple of private landowners. This means that access is not quite as straightforward as in land owned outright by the Forestry Commission.
 
Wykeham Forest also has a Research Station and one of the biggest tree nurseries in Europe.

Elickers Nursery
Part of the Forestry Commission's Wykeham Nursery

Wykeham Forest has lots of scheduled ancient monuments, many of which are easy to miss, through the trees undergrowth. They are all marked on OS maps. 


Cairn on Infested Path, Wykeham Forest (SE939878)

Most southerly (and largest) of the Three Tremblers Tumuli,
Wykeham Forest (SE936878)

Three Tremblers Tumuli from the north,
Wykeham Forest (SE935879)


Rise Dikes, Iron Age Earthwork (looking west from SE944869)

Rise Dikes, Iron Age Earthwork (looking west from SE944869)

Check out the Megalithic Portal for more info on some of these monuments. There are some concerns about the state of some of the remains. See the English Heritage At Risk site for more details.

Scarborough Field Naturalists often has information on sightings of wildlife and plantlife in Wykeham Forest.

SPRING.

Bluebells in Bluebell Wood (SE95148645)

Early spring in Sawdon Dale (SE93918604)
  

Natural rock garden,
Sawdon Dale (SE94488535)

More Bluebells in Bluebell Wood (SE95148644)


Sawdon Dale (looking south from SE93938604)

SUMMER.

Rainbow over Bluebell Wood (looking south east from SE94908630)
  
Speedwell, west of Bee Dale (SE95188662)

AUTUMN. 

Bee Dale Long Grain autumn (looking east from SE94728736)

Bee Dale in late autumn (from SE94618684)

Holly, Beedale Short Grain (from SE945868)

WINTER.

Jim and the Dogs, Charcoal Burners Track (SE94248698)
  
Christmas Day 2010

We do get our fair share of illegal off road mpv's (motor propelled vehilcles). I hate them, they make noise, scare animals, damage the plants, shred the paths, stink (and thats just the drivers/riders), damage the ancient monuments (yes, they think they are jumps/ramps !), chop down vegetation that gets in their way, are rude, disrespectful and thoughtless. I have reported, on numerous occasions, these idiots to the police and to the National Park. Occasionally they are caught and prosecuted. The more people who report these illegal acts, the more chance something will be done about them.

If you see illegal off roading, please report it. The more evidence you have the better - try to get registration numbers, either of the vehicles doing the off-roading, or the vehicle being used to transport them. A photo is even better. Call the police (if you can get a mobile signal) and/or send an e-mail as soon after the incident as possible, with any evidence attached, to the North Yorks Moors National Park:

Beinn Bhrotain and Monadh Mor

Setting off from Glen Feshie - it was chilly - before the sun had a chance to peep over the hills...  Off we go! Jim - Setting off near Auch...