WFV August 5th 2025, Burton Leonard Lime Quarry YWT Reserve

This was a superb day out for a band of five people facilitated by Angela who had volunteered to drive. We started at the Harrogate Garden centre for a coffee and to make use of their facilities.

The weather was mixed with some short lived showers, blustery at times but also periods of warm sunshine.

This YWT reserve is a disused lime quarry, managed by volunteers as well as Hebridean sheep whose task is to keep the scrub at bay, encouraging a variety of interesting plants to survive on the grassland and woodland.

Our first surprise was to encounter a field of colourful chicory being grown as a crop. We wondered why? Following some research on returning home, it is more than likely being grown as a fodder crop for animals, although its leaves are edible and roots can be roasted to make a coffee substitute. Its bright blue flowers are attractive to insects and we saw a variety of butterflies and dragonflies in the field.

The plants seen were a reflection of the time of year and the dry conditions we had experienced over the summer months. At the beginning of our woodland walk we saw lesser burdock, nettled leaved bell flower in fruit, black bryony and greater burnet saxifrage

Emerging from the woodland path on the steep grassy slope (where we had lunch) we found small scabious, harebell, St John’s wort, burnet rose, salad burnet, rough hawkbit, common knapweed and hoary ragwort. Here too was our find of the day, the locally rare squinancywort. Wild basil was found throughout the reserve.

As we wandered through the woodland and grassland we encountered a range of butterflies including three whites, holly blue, coma, gatekeeper and speckled wood butterflies. Reference was made to the white letter hairstreak butterfly however it was not seen flying around the canopy of elm or nectaring on bramble.

On entering the quarry floor, we came across another plant community including eyebright, rest harrow, common figwort, red bartsia, hoary plantain and wild thyme. There were numerous spikes of orchid in seed probably common spotted.

One of the highlights we enjoyed from the quarry floor against the background of the cliffs was a pair of spotted flycatchers flying across to feed their young. Other birds seen included a flock of gold finches, swallows, red kite and buzzard. Many of the plants were in seed and trees laden with fruit including apples, hawthorn berries, slows and blackberries. Angela was kept busy harvesting seeds for her wildflower garden.

When we skirted another grassy slope on our descent, (much drier than the first slope), we were pleased to add yellow-wort, carline thistle and the rayed form of knapweed to our list.

These are just some of the plants and insects seen at Burton Leonard during the summer months. A visit to this oasis would be a worthwhile experience at any time in the year. The fab five, Alice, Angela, Sally, Margaret and John certainly enjoyed our August visit. We were aided in plant identification by Alice.     

Margaret

Main image is Carline thistle