North York Moors National Park
LightNews LightNews
banner
northyorkmoors.org.uk
North York Moors National Park
@northyorkmoors.org.uk
910 followers 87 following 51 posts
Spectacular coast, distinctive dales, ancient woodland, historic sites, heather moorland, all just north of York
Posts Replies Media Videos
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Ready, steady… birdwatch! 🐦

The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2026 starts today. Spend one hour between 23 and 25 January counting the birds in your garden, local park or from your balcony and help make a real difference.

📸 Olivia Brabbs, Bearacreative

#BigGardenBirdwatch @rspb.bsky.social
Two people using binoculars to observe nature in a wooded area. A European pied flycatcher perched on a branch, holding an insect in its beak against a soft green background.
January 23, 2026 at 4:49 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Next month, Inspired by… gallery will welcome over 200 artists for the North Yorks Open Studios Spring Showcase. It is your one-stop shop to discover the artists opening their studio doors to the public this summer.

📸 Olivia Brabbs
Two people viewing an art exhibit featuring a dark blue textile piece and various sculptures in a gallery setting.
January 22, 2026 at 4:52 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Who's up for a boogie? 💃🌌

Dance under the night sky with The Long Dead Stars at a free silent disco, part of the Dark Skies Festival.

Find out more 👉 https://www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events/northyorkmoors/dance-with-the-long-dead-stars-at-sutton-bank

📸 Amalie Iona
Silhouette of a person standing on a hill under a starry sky with light emanating from behind their head, creating a halo effect.
January 21, 2026 at 6:46 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Discover the North York Moors after hours at the Dark Skies Festival 2026.

See the full list of walking events and plan your night-time adventure 👉 https://www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events

📸 Glen Fitzpatrick, Polly Baldwin, Hewitt & Walker
Person holding a lit lantern on a dimly lit path at twilight. Person reading a map during a nighttime outdoor event, with others in the background using headlamps. Group of hikers in a forest, with one person in the center wearing a hat and a backpack, addressing others. A person walking on a trail at night, illuminated by street lamps with a cityscape visible in the distant background.
January 18, 2026 at 5:19 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
All of our events with Richard Darn have already sold out for Dark Skies Festival.

Richard is an experienced astronomer and his sessions are always a highlight of the Festival.

Explore the full list of events: https://www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/

📸 Steve Bell

#DarkSkiesFestival2026
Person adjusting a telescope outside the Star and Nature Hub building under a cloudy sky at dusk.
January 14, 2026 at 7:06 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Our Dark Skies Festival with the @yorkshiredales.org.uk is just one month away and it’s shaping up to be an unforgettable celebration of the night sky 🌌

Take a look at the full programme: https://www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/

📸 Chris Whiles

#DarkSkiesFestival2026
A vibrant display of the Northern Lights in the night sky, featuring shades of green and red, with silhouettes of trees in the foreground.
January 13, 2026 at 5:15 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
We’re incredibly lucky to sit alongside the @yorkshiredales.org.uk as one of only 25 International Dark Sky Reserves in the world.

Together, we protect the largest designated area in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe, all recognised at the same time.

📸 Brinton Darnell

#DarkSkiesFestival2026
Nighttime landscape featuring a starry sky over a forested valley with a winding road, known as the North York Moors.
January 11, 2026 at 5:45 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
The last week has brought a real mix of weather across the North York Moors National Park. As you head out and about, please remember to travel safely.

🧥 Dress the part

🗺️ Plan ahead

#ShareWithCare

📸 Trought and About
Person wearing a beanie and jacket looking out at a coastal landscape featuring a sea, cliffs, and a cloudy sky.
January 10, 2026 at 1:35 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Wildlife on Wednesday: The short-eared owl is the wanderer of the open country. Unlike most owls, it often hunts in daylight. Their yellow eyes, rimmed in black, give them a fierce intensity that contrasts beautifully with their gentle, floating flight.

Image credit: Mike Nicholas
A short-eared owl perched on a wooden post in a grassy field during golden hour light.
December 17, 2025 at 9:24 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
The press of a spade, the settling of soil, the promise of future growth tucked into a winter field. Our Woodland Creation Team spend these colder months shaping the future of the landscape, one young tree at a time. Take a moment with them in this short, soothing glimpse of their work.
December 12, 2025 at 3:59 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
The barn owl is the ghost of winter fields. It hunts by sound, using its sensitive hearing to pinpoint tiny movements in the grass. Thanks to their presence in folklore and literature, spotting one on a frosty evening feels like crossing paths with something mythic.

Image credit: Yoga and Spice
A barn owl perched on a wooden post in a grassy field, facing the camera with a soft, blurred background.
December 10, 2025 at 9:28 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
A perfect sunny day for our GrubsUp! project volunteers who were busy planting the new community orchard at Lockton. Nearby, our Woodland Creation Team were also hard at work, adding field maple and crab apple to the landscape. Two teams, one morning, a lot of future growth going into the ground.
A lone tree silhouetted against a bright sun in a grassy field, with shadows stretching across the ground. Two individuals planting a tree in a field on a sunny day, with shovels and a young tree between them. Two individuals planting trees in a grassy field with trees in the background. One person is foregrounded, digging with a spade, while the other is in the background performing a similar task. A shovel standing upright in soil, set against a background of a sunny farm field with sparse trees and a wooden fence.
December 8, 2025 at 5:48 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
As part of our GrubsUp! project, we’re creating new community orchards. Orchards are brilliant for wildlife: blossom supports pollinators, old wood and long grass shelter insects and birds, and fruit provides food well into autumn.
Young trees planted in a pattern across a grassy field, with sparse vegetation and a few larger trees in the background, under a cloudy sky. A group of people in work attire, one carrying a yellow bucket, standing in a cultivated field with trees and a cloudy sky in the background
December 4, 2025 at 4:53 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
"Pee-wit" over an open field? Lapwing. These birds feed on insects, worms and spiders. They breed in March, before flocking in hundreds or thousands, heading to France or Spain for the winter, though some do stay.
A fluffy Lapwing chick walking on grass. A Lapwing walking on a grassy field. An adult Lapwing with its chick in a grassy field.
December 3, 2025 at 9:20 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. Silver birch is a true pioneer: wind-blown seeds, quick to settle, quick to grow. Its bark and branches have been used for everything from containers to classic besom brooms.
Two birch trees in the foreground with a backdrop of a dense, leafless forest under a clear sky.
November 29, 2025 at 3:46 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. Juniper is one of the UK’s three native conifers. A prickly, dioecious shrub, used to flavour gin. It provides great cover and winter food for wildlife, sheltering birds and invertebrates.
A group of people walking near a large cluster of juniper in a rural, grassy area.
November 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. Crab apples feed insects, birds, and historically, people. Nearly 100 insect species use them, and winter thrushes love the fallen fruit. Their tart ‘verjuice’ once stood in for lemon and helped jam set.
Branch of a crabapple tree with clusters of bright red fruit, set against a blurred background of a garden. A cluster of ripe apples on a tree branch, surrounded by green leaves. A lush tree with thick foliage stands in a rural landscape, with rolling hills in the background under a soft blue sky.
November 27, 2025 at 4:55 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. Rowan is the hardy “wizard’s tree,” thriving in a wide range of environments, from rocky uplands to supermarket car parks. Spring flowers turn into red berries that winter thrushes and waxwings can’t resist.
A close-up of a rowan tree branch featuring clusters of bright red berries and green pinnate leaves.
November 26, 2025 at 9:30 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. Hawthorn, also known as Quickset, is the backbone of many hedgerows. Strong, thorny, and fast to grow, it forms natural barriers and adds a burst of May blossom each spring.
A leafless hawthorn tree surrounded by a circle of blooming yellow daffodils in a barren landscape under an overcast sky. Cows grazing in a lush green field with white flowering hawthorn and a dense forest in the background.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. Ash trees keep woodlands bright with their open, late-leafing canopy. And despite Ash Dieback Disease, many are showing resilience, pushing new growth and adapting.
Misty landscape featuring a large, leafless ash tree in the foreground with smaller trees in the background, all shrouded in a soft fog.
November 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Aspens flutter even in still air, catching sunlight on both sides of each leaf. They grow fast and clone themselves underground, creating new trees which are genetic clones of the parent.
An aspen tree with vibrant yellow leaves stands in front of a traditional stone house with a cloudy sky overhead. Leaves are scattered across the lawn.
November 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
National Tree Week. With a thousand-year lifespan and deep roots in British myth, the oak is a silent monarch of our landscape. Our Woodland Creation Team collects acorns from established trees so we can plant the next generation.
A large, oak tree with a hollow trunk in the foreground, with a picturesque view of the countryside and a distant castle under a clear blue sky.
November 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Wildlife on Wednesday: Meet the Kingfisher

The kingfisher hunts from low perches into slow-flowing rivers, ponds and lakes for fish. Clean, undisturbed waterways are vital—cold snaps and pollution hit them hard. Locally, numbers are scarce but stable.

Image credit: Paul Harris
A kingfisher perched on a branch in a natural setting, displaying its characteristic bright blue and orange plumage.
November 19, 2025 at 9:00 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
Wildlife on Wednesday: Badgers live in underground homes (setts). Earthworms are their favourite snack. They don’t hibernate, they ride out winter in their setts, popping out on milder nights. Look for their long-clawed tracks and if you see a badger, never disturb them. Image: (c) Wildstock/NYMNPA
November 12, 2025 at 9:03 PM
northyorkmoors.org.uk
From England to Australia and the skies above Sutton Bank: the Yorkshire Gliding Club archive has helped our Raiding the Bank project reconnect with the story of aviator Amy Johnson.

https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/blog/raiding-the-bank-amy-johnson
Raiding the Bank: Amy Johnson | NYMNP
Raiding the Bank: Amy Johnson | NYMNP
www.northyorkmoors.org.uk
November 11, 2025 at 4:14 PM