Barnsley Main Nature Reserve

Barnsley Main Credit Norman Hearne

Barnsley Main Nature Reserve

Barnsley Main is a rolling green, grassland surrounded by a fringe of woodland that was once the black spoil heap of the Oaks Colliery pit head that still stands on Oaks Lane

Location

Pontefract Road
Near Dearne Valley Country Park
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S71 1HU

OS Map Reference

SE 36412 06349
What 3 words: violin.those.edit
A static map of Barnsley Main Nature Reserve

Know before you go

Size
21 hectares
z

Entry fee

Free
P

Parking information

Informal street parking only on Oaks Lane. Entry across from the old mine shaft building

Walking trails

The walking surface is grass or gravel. Well walked routes cross the site. The lower area is fairly flat with a wide footpath, but the walk up to the top is very steep, with a one in five gradient. The hilltop is very exposed, so not one for a windy or rainy day!

Access

Great access from the Trans Pennine Trail. Please contact us on 01904 659570 for more disabled access information

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times. We recommend a 1 hour trip for this reserve but it's easy to combine with a visit to neighbouring Dearne Valley Country Park

Best time to visit

June to September

About the reserve

On the edge of urban Barnsley, and well connected to other wildlife havens in the Dearne Valley, Barnsley Main is part of a green landscape with an industrial past.

Linking up sites for wildlife and people, Barnsley Main is more than just one nature reserve in isolation – it’s part of an important network of wildlife sites in the area, connected by the Trans-Pennine Trail. Dearne Valley Country Park is only a short walk away, with Littleworth Park just a mile away.

These links allow both people and wildlife to move more freely around the area and between habitats

Contact us

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

Location map

Reserve Information

About

The green, green grass of Barnsley

A walk along Barnsley Main will put you on top of the world – well, on top of the Dearne Valley anyway. The hilltop offers the best panoramic view of Barnsley and the river Dearne corridor anywhere in the valley. For somewhere so close to the centre of a large town, you’ll be amazed at how green this landscape is.

The reserve’s rolling grassland is surrounded by a fringe of broadleaved woodland and scrub, which hasn’t always looked this green and pleasant. It was once the black spoil heap of the Oaks Colliery pit head that still stands on Oaks Lane. We manage the restored grassland with seasonal cutting for a hay crop. In spring and summer, it’s a good place to watch butterflies on the wing, including some rarer populations of small heath.

By developing the surrounding ditches, we also hope to encourage more amphibians, insect species and birds.

Seasonal Highlights

Spring: Red clover, Bird’s-foot trefoil, Speedwells, Small Copper, Small heath

Summer: Swallow, Swift, Knapweed, Lady’s bedstraw

Autumn: Fungi: black earth tongue

Winter: Buzzard, Kestrel

Directions