As I was flicking through the Spring 2019 RSPB magazine, I stumbled across an interesting article about somewhere I care deeply about. Harewood House, in West Yorkshire, is surrounded by beautiful grounds. These grounds are host to many different species of wildlife. The Emmerdale set is located on the edge of the public footpath and so benefits from seeing many birds and animals that pass through.
A lot of people visit the grounds during the day but the area truly comes alive in the early morning and late evening when the wildlife is about.
The Deer Within Harewood
You can see red deer regularly and in autumn they can be heard as they begin to rut.
They are not the only species of deer to be found in the Harewood grounds though. You may also see roe and fallow deer if you’re lucky. Whilst roe deer are shy, they can also be quite curious, watching passers-by. We have seen them plenty of times when running around Harewood as they stare at us whilst we run past them and give them a wave.
The roe deer rut from around July to August and suddenly seem to gain a lot of confidence. They can be seen and heard though as with any rutting deer species, whilst they may be small, they can be dangerous.
One morning I was walking along the road into Harewood when I stumbled upon a rutting male roe deer. He jumped from the road up onto the woodland wall and proceeded to stand his ground whilst calling threateningly. I am not afraid to admit that I was daunted. Suddenly those antlers looked lethal and that small deer looked more than a bit scary.
Thankfully I made it past the deer alive and with a couple of photos (albeit poor quality). It is not unusual to have this sort of encounter during an early morning wander around Harewood.
Harewood Through the Seasons
In winter the grounds take on a whole new appearance. Covered in snow, the rolling hills and woodlands look spectacular and the wildlife looks wonderful within the wintery scenery.
Come February we begin to see herons getting into the breeding season. The area around Harewood House is fabulous for seeing them. They nest in the trees and can’t resist popping down to the penguins to steal a bit of food. My closest encounters with herons have always been around Harewood as they seem fairly unperturbed by people due to the amount of visitors going there each day.
In springtime, Harewood is stunning. The land close to the house is well-managed to ensure a range of colours shine out between the Himalayan Gardens and nearby the lake.
A variety of flowers brighten the area but perhaps most impressive is the array of bluebells that appear around the grounds.
An early morning run around Harewood can be a great way to bump into some wildlife that you might not normally see. You’re best leaving your headphones at home so you can listen out. Running instead of walking seems somewhat quieter, which scares away less animals as you approach.
On one early morning run I was lucky enough to nearly bump straight into a hare. I was running downhill from where the Emmerdale set lives, whilst the hare was running uphill. We both stopped and stared at each other for a moment before it realised it might not want to hang about so it took off into the trees.
Harewood in the Dark
Night-time has its own atmosphere that is entirely different from during the day. The feeling of possibility is prominent as you look out for owls, badgers and foxes and occasionally see them.
The hoot of a tawny owl is reassuring whilst the barn owl’s hissing can be a little disconcerting until it becomes familiar.
One of my greatest memories was running at night and having a badger run out in front of me. As such an encounter cannot be guaranteed, it makes it so much more special.
Whilst stumbling across a badger made for a close encounter, I found myself getting even closer to a bat. Running downhill from ‘Emmerdale’ brought a bat very close to my face! Thanks to its echolocation, the experience didn’t result in a collision!
The Red Kites of Harewood
Harewood is perhaps best known for being a red kite release site in 1999. They still populate the area and create quite the spectacular sight during the daytime. They are fed nearby and so often can be seen by the Muddy Boots Café as they swarm in for a meal.
There is a big focus just lately on how populated areas host a lot of wildlife that can be more easily seen than they often can in the countryside. With Harewood you can have the best of both worlds as you have all the wildlife (complete with occasional unexpected close encounters) but with the beautiful countryside setting.
Do you want to be a Harewood member?
Read more about Harewood, its opening times and how to become a member here.