Crambeck Village Nature Trail

Crambeck Village nature trail lies at the northern edge of Crambeck Village, and access is from the top end. The path runs down to the stream (the Cram Beck), and the nature trail stretches from the A64 road bridge downstream to the old pond, where the boundary adjoins local gardens.  

The area is marked on the map as Gillylees Plantation.  It is heavily wooded with Sycamore, Oak, Ash, Horse Chestnut, Elder and other trees and is home to many species of birds.  In the spring it is carpeted with wildflowers. 

The nature trail was developed in the 1970s, when the land was part of Castle Howard Reformatory.  George Pope, a teacher at the school, worked with some of the pupils to create the trail and pond.  They are said to have catalogued hundreds of species of wildlife, but unfortunately the records were lost when the Reformatory closed down.   

We have started making our own records of flora and fauna and would appreciate any sightings you can add to ours. 

The new access route from the top of the village was paid for by North Yorkshire County Council as the original steps had become unsafe. 

It is now hoped to raise more funding to rebuild the old steps which were originally behind the water treatment works, thereby creating a circular walk for use by local residents for walking or wildlife watching. 

Upstream from us the Cram Beck runs through a SINC area (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation) as it is one of the major otter breeding corridors in North Yorkshire and they pass our nature trail on their way to the River Derwent.   Otters and water voles have been seen in our area in recent years and we intend, with help from village volunteers, to try and maintain the streamside habitat to encourage these and other indigenous wildlife. 

Volunteer Tasks

If we can get enough volunteers we would like to maintain the area better and encourage Crambeck residents to make more use of the Nature Trail.  

Tasks we have in mind (if funding is available) are:

-  Reinstate the old steps to create a circular walk

-  Get a group of village children to plant shade-loving wildflower plugs around the entrances to the nature trail

-  Volunteers to build and erect owl-boxes, bat boxes and bird boxes

-  Provide seating at suitable viewing points

-  Design and erect a Wildlife information board

-  Provide direction signs etc 

-  Provide a waste bin for dog walkers at the exit point 

-  Hold more nature events for village children and adults: wild flower identification, tree identification, bird spotting, bat walk, wildlife walks. 

 

 

 

 

These can only be done with help, so please would anyone interested in getting involved contact us through the feedback option.

Rosie Adcock No 31