PLEASE PARK WITH CARE! COUNCIL'S APPEAL TO THOSE VISITING GRIMSBY'S MAGICAL WOODLAND

                                                                      

Snapped in spring, this photo captures the caressing  enchantment of Bradley Woods

MOTORISTS visiting Grimsby beauty spot Bradley Woods are being urged to show more care in how they park their cars.

According to North East Lincolnshire Council, some have been blocking the single-track access road.

Says a NELC spokesperson: "Motorists are asked to avoid stopping if the car park is full or preferably they should visit on foot or by bike instead."

Historic Bradley Woods is one of North East Lincolnshire’s most important sites for wildlife and visitors.

The ancient woodland is over 1,000 years old, and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book since when it has remained largely unchanged.

The wildlife of the woods also inspired Grimsby’s coat of arms.

The three boar heads which represent the borough are believed to have links to Henry VIII who is said to have hunted in the woods while staying at Thornton Abbey in 1540.

Bradley Woods is one of four irreplaceable local nature reserves, alongside Weelsby Woods, Cleethorpes sand dunes and Cleethorpes Country Park.

Many species of birds, beetles, bats and badgers, call the woods home, and are a large part of why the area is so important.

Deer also use the woods as a refuge and badgers forage for food on the woodland floor.

Work is currently underway to identify hazel dormice in the woodland, a rare and protected species which can be very hard to find.

More than 130 different types of beetle have been found in Bradley Woods. 

The insects lay their eggs in dead wood and are important part of the eco-system, often as food for birds.

The most common beetle species have declined by 75 per cent across the UK since 1970 and several are endangered, verging on extinction.

Different flower species, including bluebells, lesser celandine, wood anemone and dog’s mercury, which grow in ancient woodlands are all present in Bradley Woods.

Says NELC's cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Stewart Swinburn: "Safeguarding the ancient woodland is a priority.

“Visitors are welcome, but should be considerate and take care to keep dogs under control at all times.

"Taking or removing wood from the area is criminal damage, and you can be prosecuted for disturbing bat roosts or nesting birds and dormice.

In an update on recent works, NELC's ecology manager, Rachel Graham, says: “We  have recently had to remove sycamore trees. 

“While sycamore has become naturalised, it spreads prolifically and can out-compete other trees, thereby risking significant damage to the precious ancient woodland.

“Bradley Woods is predominantly oak, a native species, and has been for more than 1,000 years." 

Ms Graham continues: "Mycorrhizal fungi,  which are beneficial to trees and plants, thrive in the area.

"The fungi take sugars from plants and provides moisture and nutrients for the soil, effectively acting as extensions to plant roots.

"Hundreds of years’ worth of leaf 'litter' has collected in the woods to create these very rare conditions which only 1,000 years of nature can produce.

"The woodland is a semi-wet woodland, a very rare type of habitat, with a series of deep ditches and temporary pools."