Bank Woods

Following our success at Sylvan Nature Reserve, we were delighted to acquire our 111 acre (45 ha) site at Bank Woods, just outside Summerbridge, near Harrogate, in 2017. This allows us to carry out a much bigger habitat creation project. This land is very different to Sylvan, having steep gradients, and several different types of existing habitat. Bank Woods is in Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We have semi-improved pasture, gorse and upland scrub, waterlogged grassland, several small streams and three areas of wonderful ancient woodland. You can read more about what make ancient woodland so precious here. This includes many veteran trees, which are recorded on the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Inventory. We also have a small historic stone barn which is currently in need of repairs to its roof, although the resident barn owl doesn’t seem to mind! Old maps show a fort on the highest part of the land, and it is rumoured that this may date from the Iron-age.

The upper part of the reserve is managed as a ‘rewilding’ project. We introduced a small herd of Belted Galloway cows in 2018, and in autumn 2020, six Exmoor ponies arrived. These are our conservation grazing teams, performing a vital role in spreading wild flower seed, trampling the ground and maintaining paths through the gorse. They are available to sponsor as an unusual gift here.

We have planted 9,000 trees at Bank Woods, with support from The Woodland Trust and The Forestry Commission. The main areas of planting are along our boundaries, and between our ancient woodlands. We have also undertaken the restoration of a wildflower hay meadow, which is getting better every year. You can sponsor it here. We have created some ‘leaky dams’ to create new habitat and reduce flooding downstream. We have 40 bird boxes in our ancient woodland, and incorporated into our new barn. You can dedicate them here.

Many of the thousands of trees we have planted at Bank Woods have been allocated as dedications or sponsorships by individuals or businesses. Many of them have been planted as part of our popular carbon offsetting schemes, described here.

In September 2019, we acquired a further 44 acres adjoining Bank Woods – this land is known as Dowgill Grange. This land is being managed entirely for nature. We have planted thousands of trees and shrubs here.

If you would like to spend some time in wonderful Nidderdale, surrounded by our nature reserves, you could stay at Heather Lea, our luxury eco-friendly self catering holiday cottage. It sleeps 8, and has fabulous views across Nidderdale.

To our delight, in January 2020, Bank Woods was designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, due to the huge number of wild flowers found here.

You can dedicate a number of ‘Natural gifts’ here, including the new wildlife ponds we have created.

This short film shows the stunning bluebells at Bank Woods

Woodland Activities

After a long wait, in September 2022, we were finally awarded all the necessary permissions to host a programme of woodland activities and experiences at Bank Woods, using our beautiful outdoor spaces, and the facilities in our new barn. We now host a variety of wellbeing, educational and rural craft sessions. You can read about them here. If you would like to bring a school or similar group, for volunteering, bird watching, nature walk, or similar activity, please contact us.

Directions

Bank Woods is located just south of Summerbridge, on the B6165. It is not generally open to the public. For pre-booked activities, there is limited parking, and we encourage the use of public transport or car sharing if possible. A public footpath passes near the southern edge of the site.

Summerbridge is on the bus route between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge. The grid reference is SE 20455 61680

To Discover More…

To learn more about the site, its wildlife and our work, you can view the location on Restor here.

You can view the changes over time at Bank Woods below.

Trees are the poems that the earth writes upon the sky


Kahlil Gibran