Short birdwatching visit · Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Allerthorpe Common
- Tier
- Good stop nearby
- Best season
- Spring and autumn
- Headline birds
- Woodcock · Lesser Redpoll · Green Woodpecker
- Parking
- Use the Forestry Commission car park off Common Lane. Parking charges apply.
- Hides
- Not stated by the operator
- Step-free
- Uneven ground, hidden ditches and two stiles make this unsuitable as a step-free visit.
Common Lane, west of Pocklington · YO42 4DQ
Allerthorpe Common is a small remnant of lowland heath surrounded by forestry, with wet and dry heath, scrub, pools and mature birch and willow. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust names Green Woodpecker in spring and Woodcock and Lesser Redpoll among its autumn highlights. This is a rough-ground birding walk: the reserve has no formal paths, and tussocks, hollows and ditches can be hidden by vegetation. Visitors reach it on foot from the forestry car park, rather than driving to the heath. Keep to the operator’s access directions and allow time for the approach before exploring the permitted open-access area.
Birds and seasons
- Woodcock · Headline bird — Autumn Source for Woodcock
- Lesser Redpoll · Headline bird — Autumn Source for Lesser Redpoll
- Green Woodpecker · Headline bird — Spring Source for Green Woodpecker
Plan your visit
- Hides and viewpoints
- Not stated by the operator – check before travelling
- Paths
- A forest track leads about one kilometre from the car park to the reserve. Two stiles give access; there are no formal reserve paths.
- Toilets
- No visitor facilities are provided on the reserve; the operator directs visitors to Pocklington for toilets and refreshments.
- Parking
- Use the Forestry Commission car park off Common Lane. Parking charges apply.
- Dogs
- Dogs are not permitted on the reserve; the surrounding Forestry Commission wood allows dogs on leads.
- Access notes
- Uneven ground, hidden ditches and two stiles make this unsuitable as a step-free visit.
- Step-free access
- Uneven ground, hidden ditches and two stiles make this unsuitable as a step-free visit.
Getting there: The map pin is the public forestry car park at grid SE752473, not the heath or a bird location. Follow the operator’s forest-track directions from there, allowing about one kilometre on foot each way.
Sources
Social preview: original typographic artwork by Does Your Duck Quack.
Nearby special trips
- Wheldrake Ings Nature Reserve · 4.0 straight-line miles
- North Cave Wetlands · 12.2 straight-line miles
- Alkborough Flats · 17.6 straight-line miles
Continue birding nearby
Nearest full guide: RSPB Blacktoft Sands, 16.1 miles away in a straight line.
- Wheldrake Ings Nature Reserve · 4.0 miles in a straight line
- North Cliffe Wood · 9.0 miles in a straight line
- Askham Bog Nature Reserve · 11.0 miles in a straight line