Things to look out for in the Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales are a great place to relax and explore the outdoors. Discover rolling countryside with steep-sided valleys, vast heather-covered moorland hilltops and a patchwork of dry stone walls and barns.

Upper Wharfedale

As well as traditional hardy breeds of sheep and cattle roaming the pastures, this diverse landscape also offers a home to many plants and animals.

Autumn colour sweeps through the Dale. The woods and bracken banks vary from vivid yellows to rusty reds and everything in between. Nuts and berries from trees and shrubs are harvested by birds like blackbirds, thrush, and redwing, while small mammals such as squirrels now build up underground larders to be used when winter times get hard. This time of year sees the explosion of fungi with grassland species like waxcaps and inkcaps and woodland varieties like amethyst dissever, chicken of the woods and the deadly fly Agaric.

Redmire Wood showing autumn colours with sheep grazing in the foreground — Autumn colour at Redmire Wood | © National Trust Images/Peter Katic

Hudswell Woods

Close to the historical market town of Richmond and with the River Swale rushing alongside, you will find picturesque scenery with hints of a varied history.

The woods are a rich mosaic of autumn colour, the russet orange of beech trees, the warm browns of oak, and the yellows of lime, ash, wych elm and hazel. Fungi of every shape, colour and size push through the leaf litter and cling to dead wood. Walking at this time of year you might see fungi species like chicken of the woods, dead man’s fingers, candle snuff fungus, dryad saddle and jelly ear. Look out for birds like fieldfares and redwings eating hawthorn berries (haws) and holly berries.

Malham Tarn

The boardwalk at Malham Tarn weaves its way through the National Nature Reserve, a unique and special place with interesting wildlife. Pause on this easy stroll to appreciate the quiet and listen for the songs of our feathered friends. You might even spot the Exmoor ponies grazing in the distance.

During autumn the greens of the summer are slowly replaced by a stunning array of rustic browns, golds and reds. If you're quiet, you may see the roe deer in the woods around Malham Tarn or a heron on the banks of a stream.

The waterfall at Janet’s Foss is a magical place to visit, and legend has it that Janet (or Jennet) the fairy queen lives in the cave behind the waterfall, or foss.

The limestone pavement above Malham Cove is well worth the climb up over 300 stone steps. On top you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views but also the unusual jigsaw of clints (blocks of stone) and grykes (the gaps) and the ferns and flowers living in this distinct habitat.

Birds and bird watching

Cowside looking north to Darnbrook Fell. Drystone walls run across the valley dividing up the fields — Cowside looking north to Darnbrook Fell | © National Trust Images/Joe Cornish

Moorland

Fell tops in the Dales generally don't have a lot of trees and are usually either grazed rough pasture, blanket bog or heather moorland. These habitats can be very quiet for birds with meadow pipit being the most frequent sighting. The mournful call of golden plover is certainly a possibility and on Darnbrook Fell red grouse are often found in reasonable numbers. Moorland like this can also support merlin and short-eared owl.

Woodland

In Upper Wharfedale small areas of limestone woodland exist in steep gills, the deeply cleft scars in the landscape that have been eroded by streams or becks. Where trees meet moorland or pasture is a good spot to look for black grouse. If you are lucky on a fine spring morning you may be treated to the sight of a male bird displaying, or lekking. The often open, scrubby woodland that spills out of the gills is a perfect place for migrants in spring such as chiffchaff, willow warbler, redstart, tree pipit and cuckoo. Hudswell and Hag Woods is a good location for woodland birds including pied and spotted flycatchers.

A brown and white dipper bird above water at Quarry Bank Mill — A brown and white dipper | © National Trust Images/Derek Hatton

Rivers

On the watercourses in the valley bottoms, dippers, kingfishers, goosanders and grey and pied wagtails are all likely to be seen. The Swale at Hudswell Woods or along the Wharfe downstream of Buckden are both ideal locations. In spring these species are joined by common sandpiper, oystercatcher and sand martins. In Wharfedale the surrounding flood plains hold snipe, redshank, lapwing and curlew.

An otter raising its head out of the water among the grass on a riverbank at Croome, Worcestershire. — An otter raising its head out of the water among the grass on a riverbank | © National Trust Images/John Hubble

Malham Tarn

Malham Tarn National Nature Reserve (NNR) is made up of fen, raised bog, wet woodland and open water. In the surrounding woodland you might spot redstart and flycatchers. Lesser redpole, reed bunting, garden warbler and sedge warbler can be seen on the NNR boardwalk, the latter two as summer migrants. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for otters; good views can be had from the bird hide on the north-east shoreline.

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Two walkers on a bridge crossing the River Wharfe at Yockenthwaite

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Areas A-Z

Things to do

Place types

Things to look out for in the Yorkshire Dales

Upper Wharfedale

Hudswell Woods

Malham Tarn

Birds and bird watching

Moorland

Woodland

Rivers

Malham Tarn

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