Wheldrake Ings Nature Reserve

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust bought Wheldrake Ings in 1973. The meadows at Wheldrake Ings are nationally important and are the reason why Wheldrake Ings (as part of the LDV) is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

This meadow community is at its best in mid to late June. The typical plants include the ‘fluffy’ white flowers of meadowsweet, the beautiful round burgundy heads of great burnet and the vivid yellow of meadow vetchling scrambling up the surrounding plants. Add to this a huge variety of grasses and nationally rare plants such as narrow leaved water dropwort and you see why this grassland is so special. Winter on the other hand is a completely different picture, with large areas of standing water and thousands of waders and wildfowl in, around and over the water. It is both the sheer numbers of birds plus the variety of species that make the Ings such a staggering site at this time of year.

It is for its bird interest that Wheldrake Ings is designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) along with the rest of the Lower Derwent Valley. It is also a RAMSAR (wetland of International importance), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve (NNR).

Management here has always been inextricably linked to the seasons and the local farming community have worked the land in harmony with the natural forces of nature. A simple system of farming developed. Through spring and summer the floodplain meadows are dry and meadow plants and grasses grow. In June or July the lush meadows are cut for hay. Within a few weeks the area starts to ‘green up’ as the grass re-grows. Stock are then turned out to graze the ‘fog’ as it is historically known, they remain on the land until the late autumn, when they are taken off before it gets too wet. This traditional management has helped maintain the stunning and rare hay meadow community you can see here in the summer months. The winter rains then push the River Derwent over its banks and create the flooded meadows ideal for the wintering wildfowl.

Directions

Situated eight miles south-east of York the reserve can be approached from Wheldrake or Thorganby villages about three or four miles east of the A19 York-Selby road. Leaving Wheldrake towards Thorganby the road takes a sharp right turn. Half-a-mile on, a narrow road strikes off to the left and leads down to the reserve. Parking space is limited and the ground is often soft. There are four viewing hides. Visitors are asked to keep to the marked footpaths that lead to the hides. The rest of the reserve is a refuge.