Calley Heath Nature Reserve

Calley Heath’s name originates from the 18th century, a time when during the enclosures land was given in Trust for the poor of Barmby Moor Parish to farm. Villagers were said to be going west to ‘make their fortune’, the land lying to the west of the parish. Settlers were also migrating west to California, USA in search of land at a similar time. It is due to this that California, or rather Calley, Heath was christened. The reserve is a remnant of the 35,000ha of lowland heath that once covered Yorkshire, of which now only 1000ha exists.

An important habitat to conserve due to its great reduction in size, the reserve supports several plants typical of sandy soils. Amongst the species found growing here are sheep’s sorrel, common stork’s bill and dove’s-foot crane’s bill. Some mature ling heather plants also remain on what was once heathland. Of special interest here is shepherd’s cress, only known to be present at a few sites in Yorkshire; a small patch of creeping willow can also be seen on one of the sandy boundary banks. Heath cudweed, a member of the daisy family is another remarkable species at Calley Heath, the species has a status of being nationally-endangered.

Fauna on the site includes the very rare cranefly, Hilara gallica which was previously thought to be extinct before being recorded on the reserve in 1999. Common blue and small copper butterflies may be seen feeding on the reserve’s flowers. A kingfisher might be spotted fishing the dike at Calley Heath, and the barn owl and great spotted woodpecker are regular visitors. If you listen carefully you may hear the song of the willow warbler or whitethroat as you walk around the reserve.

The Trust has undertaken a great deal of work on this reserve to help improve the habitats found. We have sown two arable fields with an acid grassland seed mix and removed some scrub species to increase the area of heath and grassland. In addition hedges have been laid and over 2,500m of fencing have been installed to allow conservation grazing. This helps to prevent weeds and scrub from establishing so that a species rich sward, great for birds and insects can thrive! Continuous work includes controlling invasive weeds such as bracken, ragwort and willowherb.

Directions

Calley Heath is two miles west of Barmby Moor, near Pocklington in East Yorkshire. It lies adjacent to the A1079 York-Hull road, opposite two large public houses, ‘The Squirrels’ and ‘The Steer Inn’. There is limited parking on the concrete verge in front of the entrance gate and an East Yorkshire bus service stops directly in front of the reserve.