yellow-walk

THE YELLOW WALK

Low Ellers and Corbett (clockwise from the lighted crossing). Length ½ mile.

For the latest map with the amended route please see the latest YWT Potteric Carr Leaflet available at the entrance

Yellow Walk

The walk starts at an approved railway crossing controlled by lights. Cross only when the lights are on and proceed with purpose – don’t loiter on the lines. If a train approaches whilst you are waiting to cross and sounds a warning, wave to the driver to signal your recognition of his approach.

Lighted crossing

This is a short circular walk which primarily takes in Low Ellers Hide and Childers Wood. Just beyond the lighted crossing is Childers Wood. This is an area of ground which was formed partly by the tipping of many tons of ash which was taken from the fireboxes and smoke boxes of countless steam railway engines throughout nearly 100 years of steam operation on the railways. Silver Birch with an understorey of bramble has developed naturally on it since it ceased to be used after the Second World War.

After crossing the railway line you come to a junction. Take the left turn which takes one to Childers Hide overlooking Low Ellers Marsh. The railway line immediately in front of the hide is the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh with a regular passage of high speed trains which at this point often approach 100 mph. Low Ellers Marsh was the small area of marsh which comprised the original Reserve in 1968. From being a damp pasture in the 1950s, subsidence due to mining had caused it to sink about a metre and the area became flooded. This marsh is home to hundreds of ducks in winter, mainly Mallard, Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler but also Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Pochard, though its attractiveness has been usurped somewhat by the new marshes at Huxter Well. Also in winter, there is always a chance of seeing Bittern and other water birds including herons and geese. In summer it is quieter but retains numbers of breeding ducks, Moorhens, Coot and maybe Great Crested Grebe. Black-headed Gulls had a breeding colony here and some still remain, though the main breeding colony is now on the Huxter Well Marsh.

Low Ellers Marsh and the East Coast Main Line from Childers Hide © Allan Parker ARPS

In the lower part of the wood near the hide there are many fungi in autumn including Earth Stars which are well worth looking out for. The path rises up steps into the main part of the wood. The wood is mainly closed canopy which means there is little ground flora except brambles but in spring there will be warblers and woodpeckers and the usual mix of resident birds. A view opens out on the left over Childers Marsh with the usual possibility of warblers typical of marshland and, as the path descends, on the left can be seen the remains of an old railway wagon which fell down the bank around 1940. Underneath is another wagon of even older vintage, a permanent reminder of the historic connection with the railway system. In front is the railway embankment of the South Yorkshire Joint Railway.

At the bottom of the steps, the path divides. The right turn takes one back to the lighted crossing whilst the left turn is a short path (dead end) into Corbett Wood and Field.

The right turn takes one back through the wood (described above) along a winding path which skirts on the left an area of Phragmites in an old pond of indeterminate quality (it was almost certainly used as a dumping area for all sorts of rubbish, probably toxic, during the railway days). It certainly appears to be unattractive to wildlife! There are open views across part of the Reserve to the left but these are limited by the railway embankment. The path eventually leads back to the lighted crossing.

The left turn continues along a boardwalk over Childers Drain, under the railway viaduct and into Corbett Wood. This is an even-aged birch wood and on the left is willow carr which gives a good idea of what parts of the area may have looked like over 250 years ago. The path continues into Corbett Field, an open area which historically had been subject to repeated firing by sparks from steam railway engines. Consequently, the main vegetation is Rosebay Willow-herb and Meadowsweet although there is a growing patch of Devil’s-bit Scabious.

The path continues into Triangle Plantation (an extension to Black Carr Wood, though different in character). In front of one is the Bessacarr railway gantry which is well-known in railway circles.

At this point one has to return along the same route to the junction in Childers Wood.