Adel Dam Nature Reserve

The history of Adel Dam dates back 250 years, a time when the Adel Beck was dammed to provide power for the Adel Corn Mill. This resulted in the formation of a lake, which with its surrounding land was later incorporated into a private garden at the turn of the last century. In 1968 Yorkshire Wildlife Trust leased Adel Dam and began to manage it as a nature reserve.

With a mix of habitats from woodland to aquatic the reserve supports a great number of bird and invertebrate species, otherwise rare in the Leeds area. Well over a hundred species have been recorded at Adel Dam including all three woodpecker species, although the great spotted woodpecker is the most common visitor which can be best seen from Marsh Hide where there is a feeding station. In the late summer and early autumn keep an eye out for kingfisher and herons, the lake also attracting many species with breeding mallard, coots and moorhens in the willow scrub surrounding the water.

The woodland and marshy area around the lake contains a mixture of planted trees, native and non-native. You can also find plants rare to West Yorkshire, in particular sedges, in the marshy areas. Spring at Adel Dam is particularly spectacular as the reserve becomes carpeted in bluebells; it is also well worth a visit during the autumn months when fungi is abundant. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust was able to purchase the reserve in 1986 thanks to a grant from Barclaycard. It has been and continues to be managed to provide a suitable habitat for woodland birds and waterfowl. We also try to control invasive plant species such as rhododendron and sycamore that would otherwise displace other more sensitive species.

Directions

Adel Dam is approximately six miles from the centre of Leeds close to the A660 Otley Road. Visitors can use either of the Golden Acre car parks, one of which is on the A660 and the other on the Adel to Arthington road. The reserve is reached from a bridlepath, which links the two roads, running alongside the Mercure Leeds Parkway Hotel and Golden Acre Park.