Owl Wood and Pit Plantation

Hedgehog in autumn leaves

Hedgehog by Tom Marshall

Song Thrush © Nidge Nilsen 2019

Song Thrush © Nidge Nilsen 2019

Snowdrop credit Chris Lawrence
A tawny owl in the branch of a tree

Damian Waters / Drumimages.co.uk

Owl Wood and Pit Plantation

Owl Wood is perhaps misnamed. Although there are owls, it’s a different kind of flying creature that’s really at home here and in neighbouring Pit Plantation – bats.

Location

Doctors Lane, Allerton Bywater
Nearest town: Castleford (3m/4.8km)
West Yorkshire
WF10 2AQ

OS Map Reference

SE 41353 28727

View on What3Words

A static map of Owl Wood and Pit Plantation

Know before you go

Size
8 hectares
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Entry fee

Free
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Parking information

Small informal lay-by on the road into the woods. Large wagons use this road so please do not block.
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Walking trails

Interconnected woodland paths throughout both woodlands. Please bring appropriate footwear as these paths are often muddy. 

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Access

Very limited accessibility for wheelchair users.

Dogs

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Please respect the resident wildlife and keep dogs on a short lead. 

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times. We recommend a 1 hour trip for this reserve. For a longer outing why not combine with our other Lower Aire Valley reserves or the Lines Way, as well as the RSPB’s St Aidan’s or Fairburn Ings reserves.

Best time to visit

March to September

About the reserve

Owl Wood and Pit Plantation are two connected woodlands, linked to a network of reserves by the Lines Way. Owl Wood is believed to have been wooded since the late 18th century and today it’s dominated by sycamore, oak and silver birch. Pit Plantation is younger but still more than 100 years old, having been documented in a 1913 map of Allerton Bywater.

The woods offer a sheltered retreat for wildlife. If you visit during the day, look out for treecreepers climbing the gnarly old trees to find insects. You’ll also notice bat boxes high in the trees, which are surveyed by Leeds City Council. At dawn or dusk in spring and summer, it’s a bat bonanza: Leisler’s, common and soprano pipistrelle, noctule and Daubenton’s bats have all been recorded here. The best way to tell the difference is through their calls, using a bat detector. Learn how to use one on one of our guided walks.

In autumn and winter, you can see and hear songbirds throughout the woods. Red kites and buzzards are commonly seen in the area – watch for them soaring overhead. As winter starts to hint at the arrival of spring, snowdrops pop up, with a beautiful display of bluebells following them as the season gets underway. Sheffield Beck passes through the edge of the reserve – one of many local waterways in the once-industrial but now wildlife-rich Lower Aire Valley. This is also a good place simply to pause, take a breath and enjoy being surrounded by the trees.

Contact us

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

Did you know?

Bats can fly in the dark by using echolocation – using sound waves to work out where things are – and each species has a different frequency.

Pipistrelle bat facing the camera flying with its wings outstretched

Magical Wildlife Moments...

Seeing bats flying through and around the woodland.

Stunning autumnal colours Grass Wood - TOS Sara

The autumn colours were even more beautiful when the sun came out

Photo Credit - Telling our Story Volunteer, Sara

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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