Bullcarr Mires

About

Bullcarr Mires, also known as Pot Hills Marsh, is located approximately 6 miles south of Pontefract and 1 mile north of Upton. It consists of a marshland with a pond, grassland and woodland around the edges. It has a great sense of ‘countryside’ due to its location.

Enjoy a walk around the boundary of the site, cutting through the middle on either side of the pond. Stretches of boardwalk allow easy access over the wetter areas, and don’t forget to take your binoculars to enjoy the wildlife on offer.

Bullcarr Mires can only be reached by foot and is accessed via Green Lane next to the Co-Op store on Waggon Lane in Upton and via a footpath from nearby Thorpe Audlin.

This is a wonderful place to view nature with 120 bird species having being spotted here, including all five British species of owls (long eared, short eared, barn, tawny and little). In autumn jack snipe migrate from Scandinavia and settle on Bullcarr Mires in nationally important numbers. It uses its long bill to probe the mud on the marsh looking for food.

It is important for its scarcer species of herbs and grasses including grey club-rush, pepper saxifrage and marsh arrow grass; and displays an abundance of wildflowers including devil’s bit scabious.