Burton Riggs Nature Reserve

Burton Riggs Credit Helen Percival

Burton Riggs Nature Reserve

Burton Riggs is a valuable and popular green space, offering easy access to nature and a spot of serenity bounded by industrial units and the railway line on the edge of Scarborough.

Location

Off the A64 just outside Scarborough
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
YO11 3ZB

OS Map Reference

TA 0303 8351
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A static map of Burton Riggs Nature Reserve

Know before you go

Size
14 hectares
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Entry fee

Free
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Parking information

Car park with space for six cars at the north entrance, or on side of road on Lake View (easy access entrance with no gates).

Walking trails

There are paths around the whole site, including one route around the smaller lake and a rougher track around the larger lake, with steps and boardwalks over boggy and undulating parts. Please note: strictly no swimming.

Access

One route around the smaller lake specifically designed for wheelchair access. Swimming and fishing are not allowed. 

Dogs

On a lead

Migrant birds and numerous waders present, please be considerate.

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times. We recommend a 1 hour outing for this reserve but if you want an extended trip why not visit nearby Filey Dams, Harland Mount, or even explore the coast?

Best time to visit

May to September, November to February

About the reserve

Despite it’s urban surroundings, Burton Riggs has a rich mix of habitats and species. It owes its existence to the A64, having been created by gravel quarrying in the 1970s to help build the nearby road.

With two large, open lakes, several ponds, woodland, scrub and grassland, the site is an oasis that provides space to breathe and appreciate the birds, amphibians, mammals and flowers.

The expanses of freshwater make this a great place to watch wildfowl and waders, especially during autumn migration and over the winter. Ducks including pochard, goldeneye and tufted duck gather here with swans and geese, while oystercatchers use the islands, grey herons hunt for fish, and little egrets sometimes visit.

Take an early morning walk in spring and look for migrant birds in the scrub, such as common and lesser whitethroats, blackcaps, chiffchaffs and occasionally garden warbler. 

Wander along the paths in June and July and you might be rewarded with two species of orchid – common spotted and pyramidal.

Contact us

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

About

An early morning walk in spring can reveal summer migrant birds in the scrub such as whitethroat, blackcap and chiffchaff, with the occasional garden warbler. Grey herons and sometimes a little egret are seen. In winter ducks including pochard and tufted duck gather. The ponds surrounding the lakes have been home to great crested newt for a number of years.
 
Burton Riggs is bounded mainly by industrial land and housing, which makes it a valuable oasis for wildlife and local people alike. As an artificial site created by gravel quarrying in the 1970s for the construction of the adjacent A64, it is relatively young in wildlife terms, but already has a rich mix of habitats and species to its name. A public footpath runs through part of the nature reserve underneath the A64 road bridge and out into the industrial area to the east. Permissive paths run around the entirety of the site, one route around the smaller lake specially designed for disabled access and the route around the larger lake being a rougher track with steps and boardwalks surmounting boggy and hilly parts.

Wildlife management includes keeping ponds clear from silting up, rotational coppicing of willow around the lakes and increasing the area of woodland so that there is a step-up from two to three patches around the site. The scrub is a vital habitat for small birds and mammals, and is retained as much as possible, only being cut back along the footpaths.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring: Plants - Cowslip; Birds - Willow warbler; Sedge warbler
  • Summer: Invertebrates - Common darter; Gatekeeper
  • Autumn: Birds - Green sandpiper; Grey heron
  • Winter: Birds - Tufted duck; Pochard; Goldeneye; Short-eared owl

Directions

Public transport
Regular bus and train services in Scarborough.

By car
The nature reserve is situated just off the A64 out of Scarborough on the opposite side of the roundabout to the supermarket.

"Great place to go for a pleasant and peaceful stroll with the family or when you want to clear your mind and get some fresh air."
Rob Saville
Google Reviews
Emperor dragonfly resting on water. Photographer by Ross Hoddinott

Emperor dragonfly

Magical Wildlife Moment...

Watching dragonflies zipping over the lake on a lazy summer afternoon. Credit: Ross Hoddinott. 

Can you help us?

With some extra funding and resources we could improve the habitat here for both wildlife and visitors. What would you like to see improved? Contact us. 

A tree top canopy with a blue sky.

Guy Edwardes/2020VISION

Let’s go wild for Yorkshire's wildlife!

From the heights of Ingleborough to the tip of Spurn, our nature reserves are a home (often the only home) to Yorkshire’s rarest and most incredible wildlife. Will you help us continue our work and provide these vital sanctuaries for nature?
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