Bluebell Awareness weekend a big success for local campaigners at Brayton Barff (1)

Volunteers, part of the Friends of Brayton Barff (FOBB), are celebrating a successful weekend raising awareness to protect the declining bluebell population at Brayton Barff, supported by Yorkshire Water.

The volunteer group has seen large patches of bluebell carpet rapidly thinning or completely dying back over recent years. It’s believed that increased footfall, changes in local ecology and the effects of the 2025 drought have contributed to the loss. 

The group held an awareness-raising weekend on Saturday and Sunday (28 and 29 March) to help protect the remaining plants, encouraging visitors to stick to the circular pathway on the eastern side of the Barff and keep dogs on leads during the bluebell season. Working with landowner Yorkshire Water, they propose that a clearly marked Bluebell Protection Zone should be introduced to help visitors understand where additional care is needed.

Joy Howe of Friends of Brayton Barff said: “We had a very successful weekend, engaging with lots of families and dog walkers over the two days. We certainly feel that we have achieved our initial goal to help more visitors to the beautiful ancient woodland at the Barff understand the vulnerability of the bluebells, the need to protect and preserve, and the importance of them to the woodland as a whole.

“Feedback from visitors was that they did not realise how plants were affected by footfall and would look at amending their behaviour. We were joined by some of the Yorkshire Water rangers, who shared their extensive knowledge and expertise on how to protect the Bluebells that remain and explore how we might encourage future growth.  Bluebells are slow to recover and even with careful planting, there is no guarantee nature will cooperate. That’s why preventing damage is the most effective long-term strategy. Any success may only become visible decades—or even centuries—from now.”

Brayton Barff is a 100-acre ancient woodland southeast of Thorpe Willoughby and has long been a popular destination for families and dog walkers. But as the surrounding communities of Selby grow, the pressures on its delicate woodland ecosystem have increased.

David Spencer, lead ranger for conservation and access at Yorkshire Water, said: “Yorkshire Water is pleased to support the FOBB Bluebell volunteers in raising awareness of how to take simple but effective steps to help protect these incredible plants for future generations.

“Bluebells are a defining feature of ancient woodland, but they take centuries to form the carpets we’re used to seeing. A single seed can take up to six years to flower, and a bulb takes a decade to spread across an area no bigger than a mobile phone. A trampled area can take over 30 years to recover.”

Alongside its support for the bluebell project, Yorkshire Water is continuing its long-term borehole investigations into sustainable water supplies in the Brayton Barff area. Boreholes, which are large shafts drilled deep into the ground, can provide essential new drinking water sources that help strengthen resilience and sustainable water supplies.

Yorkshire Water is committed to providing a sustainable water supply for its customers now and into the future and is working with FOBB to ensure that it does this in a way that protects this much-loved ancient woodland so valued by the local community.