Distance Covered: 5 miles Time to complete walk: 2.5 hours
Total Steps: approx 10,000
Safety Tips: On the track into Fishburn keep to the right of the electric fence on the narrow path.
A highly enjoyable walk perfect for a nice Spring/Summers day. From the RSPB visitor centre at Fairburn Ings, take a detour to a sleepy village and then make your way on the route along the popular visitor attraction and do a bit of birdspotting. A tip is to hire some binoculars from the start at the visitor centre as this is the only way you will spot the big variety of birds to see. There a number of hides to stop off at along the route.
The Fairburn Ings walk
Getting There
From Middlesbrough follow the A66 to Darlington and keep on the A66 to join the A1(M). Keep on the A1(M) until Junction 42. Follow the A1246 to Fairburn village. Turn right onto Newton Lane and then keep left at a junction to arrive at the RSPB Fairburn Ings visitor centre. Parking is free. Admission to the RSPB nature reserve is £3.00.
Map of the Fairburn Ings Walk
The Walk
From the car park turn right back onto Newton Lane. Follow the road until you come to the first junction
Fairburn Ings visitor centre
Turn right onto Newton Lane
At the junction turn left and follow the road until shortly you come to a path to the right leading into the woods
Turn left at the juncion
Follow the path into the woods
Follow this path through the woods and on the edge of fields heading in the direction of Ledsham.
Follow the path
Cricket green at Ledsham
When you arrive at Ledsham go to the right at the housing and into the centre of the village.
Turn right on the road
Head towards the village centre
Make a quick detour to the left to visit a nice church and then follow the road as it bends out of Ledsham.
Church at Ledsham
Follow the road out of Ledsham
As soon as you come out of Ledsham look for a gate and a path ahead
Head towards the gate
Go through the gate ahead
Keep on the path through the woods and take the right fork and go over a stile.
Take the right fork
Go over the stile
Head towards another stile
Head towards the stile
Go through the turnstile gate
Climb to the hedge
Keep on this track which heads towards Fishburn
Keep on the track ahead
Keep to the right of the electric fence
When the track widens turn left and then left again on the road into Fishburn
Turn left onto the track
Follow the road to the left into Fishburn
Look out for a road to the right which is Cut Road. Follow the road down and keep on it as it becomes a path.
Turn right onto Cut Road
Follow the road as it becomes a path
Turn left and follow the path as it passes fishing stops. If you have binoculars you can start your birdwatching adventure here!
Head through the gate
Bench at a fishing stop
Follow the path as it passes a number of fishing stops
Swans at a fishing stop
When you approach the River Aire turn right to continue the path ahead
Turn right and continue on the path
The path then continues for some time. Look out for branches of the path which lead to hides and a perfect stop to get those binoculars out!
Hide at Fairburn Ings
The path then widens and follow it to the right
Follow the path to the right as it widens
Go over a small bridge which is a stop for to see Kingfishers if you are lucky. Then follow the sign which is signed to the visitor centre
Kingfisher bridge
Follow the sign to the visitor centre
At a frog statue turn right and follow the boardwalk back to the visitor centre and your car. There is a nice café inside the RSPB visitor centre
Frog Statue
Follow the boardwalk back to the visitor centre
Fairburn Ings
Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve is a protected area in Yorkshire, England, which is noted for its avian biodiversity. The reserve has recorded around 280 bird species, remarkable for an inland site in the United Kingdom. This is explained by the site being on migration routes as well as the diversity of habitats. The reserve is situated in the Lower Aire Valley, to the south and west of Fairburn, near Castleford. It includes the whole of Fairburn & Newton Ings SSSI. It is also a Statutory Bird Sanctuary (one of only 10 in England) with a focus mainly on wildfowl and waders, although many other birds can be seen.
The word "ings" (singular "ing") is of Old Norse origin and means "damp or marshy land that floods", a reference to the area being flooded regularly by the River Aire. Lying alongside the River Aire, the 1,000 acres (400 ha) nature reserve includes a large lake and a number of smaller lakes, ponds and dikes. The area has been the scene of industrial and mining operations for 150 years, and, although the valley floods naturally, the permanent water bodies are the result of subsidence of former coal-mine workings, up to 600 metres (2,000 ft) underground, providing habitats for wildfowl and many other birds.The site is bordered by predominantly arable farmland to the north and east, and urban environments to the south and west. One third of the site has been developed from 26 million cubic metres of colliery spoil which have been landscaped to create a large complex of herb rich grassland, wetlands and woodland.
Habitats at Fairburn Ings include flood meadows, wet fenland, marsh and reed bed, woodland and scrub. Listed in terms of the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan, the reserve contains:
- UK BAP habitats:
- mesotrophic lakes,
- reedbed,
- lowland meadow.
- BAP species of these habitats include: grey partridge (Perdix perdix), turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), skylark (Alauda arvense), song thrush (Turdus philatelist), tree sparrow (Passermontanus), linnet (Carduelis cannabina), bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyorrhoea), reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), corn bunting (Milaria calandra), water vole (Arvicola terrestris ) and pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pippistrellus).
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