Yellands Meadow Nature Reserve

Yellands Meadow Nature Reserve
Sand martin

©Margaret Holland

Eyebright credit Bruce
Redstart credit David Martin
Up here in the hills of ruggedly beautiful Swaledale, the climate can be harsh, but this traditionally managed meadow by the river provides a sanctuary for flowers and insects.

Location

Guning Lane (Situated between the River Swale and the B6270, about one mile east of Muker).
Nearest Town: Muker (0.5m/0.8km)
North Yorkshire
DL11 6QQ

OS Map Reference

SD 91892 97704

View on What3Words

A static map of Yellands Meadow Nature Reserve

Know before you go

Size
1 hectare
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Entry fee

Free
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Parking information

Informal roadside parking for three vehicles

Grazing animals

Sheep graze the land in autumn and winter.

Walking trails

There are no clearly defined footpaths on site and please stay to the margins prior to hay cut. To enjoy the meadow it is suggested that you cross the bridge over the steam to the right of the entrance gate and, keeping close to the boundary wall and river fence, go clockwise around the meadow, return across the footbridge at the eastern end and then walk back along the stream.

Access

Access via a gate along the B6270. Permissive footpaths. No wheelchair access.

Dogs

No dogs permitted

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times. We recommend a 1 hour trip for this reserve, if you would prefer a longer outing why not visit our nearby nature reserves as well?

Best time to visit

March to June for flowers and displaying birds; December to February for migrating flocks

About the reserve

Yellands is a small meadow next to the Swale, with an alder-lined stream running across it. In June and July, it’s alive with grasshoppers, bees and butterflies, and resplendent with radiant colour, thanks to flowers including cuckooflower, yellow rattle, pignut, lady's- mantle, meadow vetchling, bugle, eyebright, bird's-foot trefoil and common spotted orchid. You might also find melancholy thistle, meadowsweet and marsh marigold on the riverbanks. In winter, you may be lucky enough to spot otters in the water.

Contact us

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Contact number: 01904 659570
Contact email: info@ywt.org.uk

Environmental designation

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

About

Yellands Meadow is a tiny meadow lying next to the River Swale and is one of twelve included in the ‘The Muker Meadows’ Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The meadow has been managed in a traditional way by the same tenant family for a number of generations and is grazed in the autumn and early spring and a hay cut is taken in July.

In spring and summer the grassland is full of colour and includes cuckooflower, yellow rattle, pignut, lady's mantle, meadow vetchling, bugle, eyebright, bird's-foot trefoil and common spotted orchid. The moist banks of the river support melancholy thistle, meadowsweet and marsh marigold. There is a range of grasses in the sward with sweet vernal-grass, the grass that gives cut hay its characteristic and evocative smell, predominant. In autumn the site will have been cut for hay but autumn hawkbit may have come into flower after the cut. You may also spot sand martin and grey wagtail along the river. Winter is a quiet time at the reserve but it may be a good time to spot otter on the River Swale.

A stream, lined with alders, runs diagonally across the meadow. There is a small stone barn on the western boundary containing the original stone cow stalls. The meadow has resulted from traditional management in the harsh climate of the hills. It is of a type that is now almost entirely restricted to a few valley heads in the North of England.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring: Plants - Marsh marigold; Cuckooflower; Birds - Sandmartin
  • Summer: Plants - Eyebright; Yellow rattle; Meadow vetchling; Lady's mantle;  Birds - Redstart;
  • Autumn: Plants - Autumn Hawkbit.
  • Winter: Birds - Grey wagtail.

Directions

Public Transport

A very limited bus service runs along Swaledale.

Directions

Situated between the River Swale and the B6270, about one mile east of Muker. A small parking area exists in an informal lay by near the field gate on the B6270.

A barn owl pokes it's head out of an opening.

Credit: Andrew Mason

Magical Wildlife Moments...

Patiently watching the barn on the reserve’s western boundary to be rewarded with views of barn owls.

A tree top canopy with a blue sky.

Guy Edwardes/2020VISION

Let’s go wild for Yorkshire's wildlife!

From the heights of Ingleborough to the tip of Spurn, our nature reserves are a home (often the only home) to Yorkshire’s rarest and most incredible wildlife. Will you help us continue our work and provide these vital sanctuaries for nature?
£