There has been a growing urge to spend sometime in the company of red squirrels. Not sure why, perhaps a youtube video id watched, or that it had been a while since i’d last made a deliberate effect to visit the area where they are prolific. So, two days booked off work and picked one of those days to call into Snaizeholme. For this little trip, I’d also asked my brother to join in, mainly so he could drive to the parking spot and id not get my car dirty and it’s always nice to spend a few hours out and about with my brother, who shares the same passion of photography. The road had been modernised since my last visit and was now tarmac rather than gravel.
The first squirrel on one of its favourite perches
Those nuts go through quickly!
Snaizeholme is a gem in the Yorkshire dales, one of the few places where red squirrels still exist. A credit to the hard work of Hugh and Jane Kemp, who planted the hillside in the late 60’s mainly as a plantation but also noticing the benefits to wildlife with the growing woodlands. The first red squirrel was spotted in the mid 1990’s and since the woodlands have been managed to reduce food sources for grey squirrels, the Reds have had little competition in the nut eating world.
The area is now quite famous for its red squirrels and other wildlife and attracts a lot more visitors than you would normally find in a hidden valley south of Wensleydale. There is a bus service from Hawes to the squirrel trail but you can also prebook parking spots at Mirk Pot farm, which is what my brother and I have done.
Enjoying a patch of sunlight
It’s a short and enjoyable walk to the red squirrel viewing area and its not long before we spot our first squirrel, running along a boundary wall and into the tree’s that run along the path.
The squirrel viewing area is setup with a managed feeding station and there is another squirrel there when we arrive. It doesn’t take long before this squirrel comes to check us out, running close by and sitting on the stump not far away. The weather is rather glorious, not a cloud in the sky which is helpful as its still quite dark in the woodlands and wanting high shutter speeds is requiring high ISO. The one squirrel comes and goes, keeping us entertained. They are very fast and difficult to keep in frame. The best course of action is to just put the camera down and watch. This one prefers the upright stump to perch on and it regularly goes to this first before running to the others. So, its point the camera at this spot and wait. After an hour or so (we arrived quite early, maybe 7.30am) they are two or three squirrels running around, keeping us entertained. A couple more people call into the viewing area and we all enjoy watching the squirrels run around.
Ready to pounce
I think by 11am, there are at least seven squirrels chasing each other. We stay till 12.30 and make our way back to the car. It’s a wonderful spot and so very lucky to not live that far away. I do hope that the current plans to rewild Snaizeholme don’t affect the wonderful red characters roaming its woodlands.
The traditional photo