Welcome to Staveley
Staveley Nature Reserve, North Yorkshire is a discreet place full of wildlife. If you’re an early bird, you may be lucky and catch sight of the best that Staveley has to offer. Hidden away amongst the reeds are otters, bitterns and bearded tits, although luck plays a large part in seeing them!
The greater spotted woodpecker is a regular visitor to the bird feeders.
This location is a magnet to wildlife photographers, bird-watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. However, Staveley also attracts a wealth of dog-walkers, families and others who want to enjoy the great outdoors.
The good quality paths and hides make it a welcoming, accessible and comfortable place to be. It also gives people the chance to mix with like-minded people and share experiences. Many a time I have been in a hide and had someone suggest alternative local locations for particular species. However, Staveley hits the mark for us at Embrace Nature UK. It has so many species in a great place as we will demonstrate here.
The Species Bucket List
You don’t have to be a twitcher to have a species bucket list. We probably all have creatures that we would like to see in the wild and nature reserves are often good places to begin looking.
Watching wildlife never comes with a guarantee but with great scenery, atmosphere and common species, even the wait can be fun. Staveley always seems to have something going on so you’ll never be bored.
Make it a full day at Staveley Nature Reserve and you may get to see tufted ducks, coots and even the elusive water rail.
This is a great location for seeing some species that are otherwise hard to find. The sound of a squealing pig amongst the reeds indicates the presence of a charismatic but rather shy rail. During the winter, the water rail is one of many species attracted out from their hiding places to the abundance of food at the feeders.
The water rails are seen regularly as well as reed buntings, a variety of finches and tits. This includes the hard-to-distinguish willow and marsh tits.
Hanging about in the evening brings a fresh set of sightings, which include barn owls and flocks of geese. It’s clear that badgers are somewhere about, however you have to be a true night owl to spot one.
As the spirit of sharing is alive in the fresh Staveley air, you will often be told if there’s a rare or special species about. So there’s a good chance that, if you’re patient and observant, you’ll get some great sightings if the wildlife is there to be seen.
Seasons at Staveley
Each season at Staveley Nature Reserve offers a fresh platter of wildlife. Spring, for example, is a great time to see the common toad as they gather in the small ponds to mate. Later in the season as their young venture out, you have to be careful not to tread on an unsuspecting toadlet!
Activity emanates from the lagoons as the birds mate and begin to breed. This produces some excellent photographic opportunities or just exceptional entertainment for onlookers.
Look twice at groups of mute swans as you may find the bird you’re looking at is actually a whooper swan!
As we enter June and July, the reserve is full of dragonflies and the stunning demoiselle. The grassy areas flourish into meadows, which attracts various insects including the five-spot Burnet moth (pictured below).
Who’s Calling?
You don’t have to be a wildlife-enthusiast to enjoy this special nature reserve, however it’s hard to ignore the surrounding bird activity. A variety of calls emanate from the reeds and trees including from a range of hard-to-see warblers. This is where a little bit of knowledge goes a long way!
Who’s calling? The amount of small brown birds around Staveley can be confusing but they’re worth looking up! The nature reserve hosts reed buntings, chiffchaffs, sedge, reed and Cetti’s warblers amongst others.
For many of the sightings on the reserve there is a helping hand. For example, you can find books in one of the smaller hides and useful wall charts in the others. These will get you on your way to discovering just how much is really out there.
For those people who lean towards mammals more than birds, there are a few treats hiding away in Staveley Nature Reserve. The otters are perhaps the most popular of mammals and can sometimes been seen with a bundle of bubbles leading them through the water. So if you decide to visit Staveley, you never know, you might see a sight as in our video below!
Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK, is an attractive location for tourists and walkers of many abilities. Standing at 4411 ft (1345 m), it sits within a stunning Scottish landscape. The walk is challenging and the views are fantastic if you’re lucky enough for clear weather. There are a variety of ways up Ben Nevis for both climbers and walkers with each way offering a unique experience.
Mountain Track / Tourist Route
The Tourist Route or Mountain Track, is the most popular and well-known way up the mountain. It’s without a doubt the easiest route. Therefore this not only attracts a multitude of walkers but also those who are quite inexperienced. The route begins from the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre car park, which is handy as the centre includes a shop and toilet. It’s best to prepare your equipment before this point though.
The good thing about the Mountain Track is that there’s a very obvious path that takes you all the way to the top. You will probably want walking boots because the ground is rough and the top of the mountain is very rocky.
Whilst the Mountain Track is ideal for your first ascent of Ben Nevis, there are downsides to walking this route. Firstly, it’s busy! On popular days this route resembles a motorway as walkers crowd up and down the path. Therefore if you need the toilet anywhere on your walk, you’re likely to have a vast audience (believe me, I know from experience!).
If aesthetics is what you’re after on a walk, the tourist route isn’t the most spectacular way for beauty. Don’t get me wrong, it does have its fair share of stunning views, however the other side of the mountain is pretty magnificent the whole way.
Alternative Routes up Ben Nevis
The North Face of Ben Nevis fuses drama with excitement and gives you all the aesthetics you could hope for. Years ago I walked (or rather clambered) most of the way up Ben Nevis via the CMD arête. A complete stranger to arêtes at the time, this was definitely not the right way up Ben Nevis for me. However, if you have more experience and a head for heights, this is an amazing route. The views are pretty spectacular and the initial walk along the path from the North Face car park is really lovely.
Seeing red deer along the way adds to the ‘Scottish experience’ and the route gives you a fair challenge. We climbed vertically from nearby the C.I.C. Memorial Hut to join other walkers near the summit of Carn Mor Dearg before taking on the arête. With our equipment and level of fitness at the time, this was a terrible decision. I had a bag full of camera gear and everything I wore was heavy. The more popular choice on this route is to join the path to Carn Mor Dearg sooner. This should leave you with sufficient energy to summit both Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis.
Another well known way up Ben Nevis is the Ledge route. Whilst I was comfortably springing up the tourist route recently, one of our team headed up this alternative ‘path’. OK so actually forget the word ‘path’ completely at this point. Good luck finding the route and if you do, you’ll need to toughen up to complete it. I think all of this comes down to your level of experience. The more you’ve walked, clambered and scrambled, the more you’ll crave adventure, in which case, if you’re highly experienced, this could be the route for you.
Making It to the Top of Ben Nevis
Whichever route you take up Ben Nevis, you’re going to end up in the same place at the end. The summit of Ben Nevis is vast so it’s easy to think you’re near the top much sooner than you actually are. In great weather you can enjoy fantastic views but in bad visibility the sense of achievement is enough to put a smile on your face. Don’t get fooled as to which of the scattered buildings, ruins and shelters is actually the top. The trig point is on top of a platform with steps up one side.
One thing to note…unless you’ve chosen a very hot day, there’s a good chance you will be, oh, so cold! I’ve seen so many people arrive at the summit in jeans and hoodies. Believe me when I say that you’re likely to want more even in summer. Seriously, leave jeans behind! If it starts to rain, jeans are just horrific to wear. Light weight trousers with the option of full waterproofs, gloves, hand warmers, buff and hat are the way to go. I took all of the above last time and my hands still became painfully cold in the course of about ten minutes.
The best thing to remember on any walk is to enjoy yourself.
Want a better view of the Mountain route? Watch our video below.
Watch Our Ben Nevis Walk
Useful Links
Plan your route with OS Maps here.
Find out what www.visitscotland.com says about Ben Nevis.
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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.
Would you like to enjoy your own copy of the RSPB magazine, ‘Nature’s Home’?
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Our initial impression of the Isle of Harris was not as we might have expected following reviews we’d heard before. Some locations are painted as absolute perfection but even the most beautiful tropical island cannot be perfect in real life. We were headed to St Kilda and stopped off on Harris en route with a cottage to return to for the second week of our Scottish Island adventure. We arrived with overcast skies, which accompanied us along the winding roads; casting the gentle hills in shadows. We were surprised as had not imagined this landscape after many visits to the Inner Hebrides, which look very different. However, it only took the turn of a corner and the arrival of the sun to illuminate one of Harris’ most precious gems – Luskentyre Beach.
The beaches on Harris have not been over-estimated. They are stunning! Luskentyre is one of the more famous beaches and from the first time we saw it, it was immediately clear why. At low tide the sparkling white sands look to stretch for miles and in the sun the sea appears turquoise. The over all effect creates a Carribean-esque appearance to the extreme where when commissioned to provide a magazine with a photograph of a Carribean beach, a photographer headed to Harris instead and provided an image of a Harris beach with palm trees added in. The magazine was none the wiser.
The down-side of these stunning beaches is that the first thing you want to do on a warm day, is strip down and head into the water. BIG MISTAKE! This is only for the very brave or those who do not feel the cold. The further you head into the Atlantic, the colder it seems to get so a dip on a magnificent Harris beach might make the experience slightly less wonderful.
As with many of the Scottish Islands, there is often a feeling of possibility. The addiction to looking from land to sea to sky in the hope of seeing wildlife is hard to fight. It can pay off though. In the most unexpected of places you can stumble across some great wildlife. One of our most special moments was whilst walking along Scarista Beach on South Harris, and as if from nowhere, a Juvenile White-Tailed Eagle appeared with a Gull in tow mobbing it. Surprise sightings like this one truly make the island feel special.
There is a certain level of charisma that comes with the isle of Harris. When driving, it is common to wave to everyone you see. Some of the best places to eat are tiny and incredibly charming – for example Croft 36, which lays out fresh food from Monday to Saturday with an honesty box for payment. The food is incredible and perfect if you want something to take for your lunch as you head out for a walk. The Temple Cafe is so well situated, is lovely to look at and a great place to sit in and eat. Eating on Harris on a Sunday is a little more difficult. The island is very religious and so in most part observes the Sabbath in a way that would have been common on the mainland decades ago. You could easily cause offence by hanging out your washing on a Sunday and we stayed in one bed and breakfast that asked us not to watch television on a Sunday. We were not aware of how religious the island was until we arrived so think it’s useful to have a head’s up so you can be prepared and remain respectful of the islander’s way of life. A few places remain open for food on a Sunday for example the Harris Hotel, which serves large and lovely meals though it might be worth booking in advance.
North Harris holds a charm all of its own. We had a lot of sightings of Otters and enjoyed watching a pair of Golden Eagles close to the North Harris Eagle Observatory. We also had the cobwebs blown away in high winds with a walk of the Clisham Horseshoe (one of my favourite walks to date). As with many parts of Scotland, wet weather gear is a must but even if the weather is poor, it can sometimes enhance rather than detract from an outing in the North Harris hills if you carry a good attitude with you.
All in all, it’s clear that our first impression of Harris was merely fleeting. The island is beautiful and special in its own way. I know people who holiday there every year as they love the island and can imagine nowhere better to stay. As with anywhere, the only way to enjoy it to its fullest extent is to emerge yourself in the landscapes, wildlife, culture and history that is offered on a plate.
ISLE OF HARRIS
Useful Links
CROFT 36
For local produce available via an honesty box, visit Croft 36:
THE TEMPLE CAFE
For lovely views and tasty food, put The Temple Cafe on your route:
www.facebook.com/thetemplecafe
HARRIS HOTEL
For a sit down meal in pleasant surroundings, book to eat in the Harris Hotel:
