Duncombe Park National Nature Reserve

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Overview

The woodland and wood pasture of the Duncombe Park NNR, near Helmsley, contains some of England’s oldest and tallest trees, and is situated in the grounds of the Duncombe Park, a country house built in 1713. This protected parkland is in the valley of the River Rye and is home to many great gnarled veteran trees providing a home for rare invertebrates and fungi in their dead and dying limbs, rot holes and hollow trunks. Birds found here all year round include all three species of woodpecker, nuthatch and the elusive hawfinch, which in summer are joined by pied flycatcher and redstart. In spring the woodland floor is covered in sheets of bluebells, primroses and wild garlic. The River Rye flows through the reserve and is home to many rare insects, trout, otters and birds such as dipper, grey wagtail, kingfisher, grey heron and sand martin.

Location

HELMSLEY, York, YO62 5EB

About the area

North Yorkshire, with its two National Parks and two designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is England’s largest county and one of the most rural. This is prime walking country, from the heather-clad heights of the North York Moors to the limestone country that is so typical of the Yorkshire Dales – a place of contrasts and discoveries, of history and legend.