Bolton Percy Station Nature Reserve

A visit to Bolton Percy Station can be full of surprises and not just of the wildlife variety. Situated along the Leeds-York railway you may spot a steam engine go by on a sunny day. An old goods platform still exists reminding visitors of its past as a rail stop.

The habitat here is varied, the land at different levels with raised areas and a low lying area with a short watercourse The surfaces are also variable, for example stony in areas where rail-track ballast has been dumped in the past. This diversity however promotes a varied range of species including an impressive spring display of primroses along an embankment. The reserve is also popular with small butterflies and day-flying moths that feed on members of the pea family including bird’s-foot trefoil. The common blue butterfly and brightly spotted burnet moth are amongst the species found here. Larger and showier butterflies may be found in the open areas displaying their marvellous colours for all to see including the red admiral and painted lady.

Insects are not all you might expect to see on a visit with four amphibian species having been recorded on site. This includes the great crested newt, the largest newt species in Britain and also one whose population has declined due to a lack of suitable habitat. Whilst there are few birds nesting on this small reserve a great spotted woodpecker did one year nest on a pole here!

Management at Bolton Percy Station aims to keep short open grasslands, and less intensively managed edges. Rabbits graze on coarse grassland, preventing it from becoming too dominant. On some parts of the reserve where railway maintenance vehicles require access bare ground develops which is colonised by trefoils.

Directions
Bolton Percy lies about three miles from Tadcaster. From the west pass through Tadcaster and turn right at the lights at the hilltop. Follow this road to the railway bridge where cars can be parked in the bay.

From the east, leave the A64 at Colton Lane End and continue straight on for about two miles. Cross both railway bridges and turn right. Near the windmill turn right and at the start of the village right again to the railway bridge.

The main section of the reserve is entered through the gate at the bottom of the lane. Network rail still retains access to the site so the roadway and gateways must not be blocked.