Natural History in Barnsley
We will be meeting at 7 pm for this walk to Huskar Woods and Nabs Wood. We will be taking a close look at the ancient woodland indicator plants before the leaf canopy closes over. We will also be on the lookout for the species that call these woods home. With a little bit of local history thrown in there is plenty to tempt many interests.
If you want to join us for this walk, or any of our other events, please drop us an email for further details. [email protected]
We will be taking a look at what is about in the park. Spring shows off an abundance of flowers and insects, with butterflies and damselflies making an appearance in the wider area.
Our walk on 11th April is to the Adwick Washlands, while there will be plenty of the resident birds about, there may also hopefully be a chance to see some migratory bird having a fuel stop before their onward travels. We will be meeting at 10am in the carpark; details for which are by email request. When our leader, Lesley, did a route check walk (26th March) there was some flooding on the paths which should be clearing now we have some dry weather. Hence the name washlands. This mainly flat terrain makes this a very comfortable walk and the incline /declines we may encounter are minimal, and some paths are a little uneven in places.
Our other walks to look forwards to over April and May are as follows, including a pop-up that is not on our programme; keep an eye open for updates on these too 22nd April; Dawn Chorus 5:30 am start time 9th May; Dearne Valley Country Park 20th May;. Huskar Woods
As you can see, our programme carries on in September with a field visit and the first of our winter indoor meetings at Worsbrough Common Community Centre.
Join us for this presentation by Ron for our last over-winter indoor meeting of our 2025/2026 season. Ron is a very keen bird watcher and photographer who, in the past, has taken us on a photographic journey covering his and his wife’s travels around the world. We have some of Ron’s previous photos in the “Category”. section, many of which have been taken in the Barnsley area. Ron is also planning a Dawn Chorus walk for us later in the year. This will be an extrat to our summer programme
This presentation will start at 7pm and run for around 2 hours at the WorsbroughCommon Centre on Warren Quarry Lane.
We will be looking at the various moss species that are in the area of monk Bretton Priory. Our walk starts at the priory and then we usually cross the road to Barnsley Main Heritage Site. Mark and Catherine will be our leaders for the morning. More details are available by email request from [email protected]
We hope you can join us for the evening for this presentation by Chris Atkinson. Chris will take us on a journey through time on the fascinating history of our woodlands.
The venue details can be found on our “About Us” page. Or drop us an email at [email protected]
Our Barnsley Nats programme from September 2025 to March 2026 has now been published. Lots of interest!
Details of each meeting will be sent out by email about a week before each event. Make sure you’re on the email list!
We had a great walk yesterday at Wortley Hall gardens and parkland; there were quite a few colourful fungi to spot
Our next indoor meeting is on Wednesday 19 November : Chris Tomson is giving an illustrated presentation on ‘Rivers, Waterways and Wetlands – a Natural History’.
Chris’ talks are always informative and enjoyable. And everyone is welcome, so do tell anyone that may be interested.
Wednesday 19 November, 7pm, at Worsbrough Common Community Centre, Warren Quarry Lane, Barnsley S70 4ND.
On Saturday morning, 8th November, Barnsley Nats are visiting Wortley Hall grounds, looking for a variety of fungi species, and comparing them with our previous visits.
For details of meeting place and time please email: [email protected]
For those who receive the email, please note the special arrangements.
A special illustrated talk about watching Mars
The first Barnsley Nats indoor meeting this winter season is this coming Wednesday, with a special presentation about Mars —the planet.
Guy Gunson, from Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society (MSAS), is giving an illustrated talk on “Watching Mars”, a topic that he is enthusiastic about. It promises to be a really interesting evening.
It’s at 7pm at Worsbrough Common Community Centre (The Vera Mawby Centre) on Warren Quarry Road Barnsley S70 4ND. What3words: ///daring.medium.weds. Parking is available at the side of Warren Quarry Road, as well as limited parking in the Centre’s grounds.
Everyone is welcome for this fascinating subject. If you have friends interested in astronomy, then do invite them.
For those of you who wish to support Barnsley Nats by being a member, we are collecting subscriptions for the coming year. Printed Nats programmes –up to March– will be given out at the meeting. Of course, the programme is available on this website too. Just look under this post!
We had a pleasant and interesting walk around the TPT and River Don in Oxspring, ending at Willow Bridge, an ancient packhorse bridge over the river Don, where we observed at least three species of bats: Daubenton, Pipestrelle and Soprano Pipestrelle.
Our field visit on the 12th July is to Rabbit Ings in Royston; details have been emailed out already, please drop us an email if you request this information.
While we intend to look at flowers and insects; there are plenty of other species groups that we never miss. And this site, which we do visit occasionally, offers an array of species for a young Country Park, so there should be plenty to see. The sites that we visit regularly allow for comparison data to be collected, which is an added benefit; having said this we always manage to spot something different. Hopefully the return of water voles, as the reed beds have had some extensive clearing work done to aid their habitat requirements
Our additional Barnsley Nats field visit this Saturday morning [28 June] is to Spring Meadows, Alderman’s Head and Cox Croft Meadows, to the south of Penistone.
These are traditionally managed hay meadows designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). They are adjacent to the ancient woodlands of Hollin Wood and Spring Wood. The visit has been arranged by Mitch Greenhalgh and is by courtesy of the farm owner.
For details email: [email protected]
