St Aidans Nature Reserve ~ Easy Walk

Distance Covered:  4 miles Time to Complete Walk: 2 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes but keep on a lead if cows in field.

Just outside Leeds is this wonderful oasis - an RSPB reserve which is home to birds such as kestrels and swans and many more. This walk starts at the Little Owls cafe and takes you on the outer reaches of the reserve. See and hear birds all around you. A bird-spotters delight and a great family day out. 

General Safety Tips: Cows were in one of the fields but without calves, be vigilant and keep to the edge of the field. Consider a diversion if concerned.

The St Aidans Nature Reserve Walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough follow the A19 onto the M1 southbound. Turn off at Junction 46 signed to Garforth. Turn right at the first roundabout onto Whitehouse Lane to Great Preston. Turn right onto Wood Lane and then right into Astley Lane. Shortly after look for a left turn into the St Aidans Nature Reserve carpark. Parking is £4. Entry to the reserve is free.

Maps of the St Aidans Nature Reserve walk

The Walk

From the car park enter the reserve by walking between the cafe and "Oddball"- a giant excavator. 

At the far end of Oddball branch off to the right climbing the path. There are great panoramic views of the reserve at the top.

Follow the path to the left at the top.

Follow this path until you come to a signpost and a gate to your right.

Follow the path through the field full of rapeseed a pretty yellow flower. The path is obvious to follow. 

You will arrive at another turnstile gate. Head through it and turn left and follow the path at the edge of the field. Take care as cattle may be in this field.

Arriving at a bridleway, go through the gate and through another one directly opposite. Follow the diagonal path to the left through the next field.

At the bottom of the field go through another gate, over a small bridge and onto a track. Follow this track to the right.

Follow the path keeping to the right at a junction.

This is a great spot to look for birds- swans and ducks and also kestrels above.

Follow this path as it bends to the left until you come to a large junction.

Take the path to the right which is signed to the River Aire.

At another junction keep to the left signposted to Caroline Bridge.

Follow this path passing Caroline Bridge.

At the next junction which is an outfall point head up through the gate and follow the path back into the reserve. 

At a junction keep ahead.

Head onto the wide gravel road and follow this round to the left.

Look for a shortcut through the field to your left which heads back to the cafe/car park.

Join a path and follow this to the right.

At a junction take the path to the right.

Keep the right on the path and head back to the car park.

St Aidans Nature Reserve

St Aidan's is a 400-hectare (990-acre) nature park located between Leeds and Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. The land was formerly an opencast coal mining area that was flooded in 1988, after the riverbank collapsed. Repairs and remediation required its own act in Parliament to allow the necessary works to go ahead. Mining ceased at St Aidan's in 2002.

The nature park opened to the public in May 2013 under the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). However, the car park and visitor centre were subsequently closed in July 2013 due to unresolved land issues.With the successful transfer of St Aidan's to Leeds City Council, a 99-year lease was signed from the council to the RSPB in March 2017. The site is now open and functioning as an RSPB nature park. It is open every day excluding Christmas Day with the visitor centre open from 9.30 am to 5 pm February – October and 9.30 am to 4 pm November – January.

RSPB St Aidan's Nature Park is designed for both people and wildlife and is open for a wide range of activities, from bird watching, cycling and walking to jogging, horse riding and dog walking.