York’s Askham Bog reopens after makeover as it turns 80

Activities will include guided reserve walks, pond dipping, a theatre production, crafts, and more.

Askham Bog is Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s inaugural reserve, as the Trust was founded to care for it in 1946.

Sir David Attenborough being shown round Asham Bog by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Prof Alastair Fitter in 2016. (Image: The Press)

A fragment of ancient peatland banded by road and railway line, the reserve is home to extensive rare wildlife from centuries-old royal ferns to hundreds of different moth species, as well as more common and beloved robins, roe deer, and dragonflies.

The reserve is a deeply-loved urban green space lauded as a ‘cathedral of nature conservation’ by Sir David Attenborough when he visited in 2017, and the Trust hopes to inspire more people and visitors to enjoy its peace and quiet on the edge of York.

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Yorkshire poet Ian McMillan has written a celebratory poem about Yorkshire’s wildlife to mark the occasion and the Trust’s 80th anniversary.

The poem is in two halves, with the second part remaining secret and buried in a time capsule within the reserve, along with other Trust memorabilia, to be reopened in 70 years’ time for the Trust’s 150th anniversary.

Ian said: “I wanted this poem to be my birdsong, my splash of a fish in a river, my breeze whispering through the trees.

“I wanted my poem to be true to the ideals of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and to inspire future generations to enjoy our wildlife – and, of course, to write poems about it!”

Askham Bog is located a 10-minute walk from Askham Bar and includes a 1 km boardwalk loop, which takes in some of the reserve’s best wildlife and the popular main pond.

First installed in the early 2000s by a team of dedicated reserve volunteers, the original boardwalk has now been replaced with sustainably-sourced materials that have better longevity and durability, with an improved route layout and wider sections with smoother surfacing for improved accessibility.

New signage has been installed on-site, and the Trust has also undertaken some vital management work in areas usually obscured by the boardwalk.

David Craven, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s head of operations in East Yorkshire, said: “Caring for Askham Bog has always been an honour, but it has been particularly lovely to see and hear just how much Askham Bog means to York’s local community whilst the reserve has been closed.

“From stories about visiting after school as a child and returning decades later with children and grandchildren, to the difference having a peaceful green oasis has made to people’s mental health, we are so pleased to be able to open the reserve again in time for school holidays and welcome visitors back to enjoy Yorkshire’s ‘cathedral of nature conservation’ again.”

To celebrate the reserve reopening, the Trust is hosting an opening event on-site at the reserve on July 25 and 26.

This will include guided walks of the reserve by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust staff, with all the best information on what wildlife to spot where as well as the opportunity to purchase limited-edition linocut prints of the reserve by local York artist Jon Haste.

There will also be the opportunity to purchase memorial plaques to be installed on the new boardwalk – the first ten purchased will be at a discount.

Rusticus Walking Theatre Company will be performing Ditzy the Dragonfly.

Thread and Press will be running family willow-weaving workshops creating 2D bugs, birds, and butterflies; there will be pond dipping sessions; and there will be a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust members-only moth spotting event with @garden. Of moths on Sunday, July 26th.

On-site catering, self-led wildlife spotter guides, and nature-journalling opportunities will also be available.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust president Alastair Fitter will give a talk at Pike Hill Golf Club York on Friday, July 24, about the reserve’s captivating history.

As part of its 80th anniversary celebrations, the Trust has also been running an appeal to raise money for further vital work needed at the reserve.

Askham Bog has struggled in recent years with increasingly unpredictable dry periods that risk damaging its vital peat habitat.

The Trust is raising money to manage scrub and invasive Himalayan balsam on-site, create new ponds for wildlife like great-crested newts, and survey how wildlife has responded on-site to the hotter weather.

To find out more about the reopening event and appeal to safeguard Askham Bog’s future, go to https://www.ywt.org.uk/appeals/action-for-askham-bog.

The Trust is grateful to contractors Bison Bridges for supplying the new boardwalk, Elms Solutions Ltd for their careful management of the boardwalk removal and reinstallation, and Piers Edsall of Environmental Art for supplying the time capsule.