East Yorkshire

East Yorkshire & Selected Top Wildlife Sites (see map)

'The Land of the Plough', East Yorkshire is heavily dependent on farming and the influence of agricultural practices past and present shape many of its landscapes. The region's eastern boundary is the North Sea which stretches from the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head down through the sandy beaches of Holderness to the iconic peninsular of Spurn Point. To the south is the Humber estuary which separates Yorkshire from Lincolnshire, and through middle of the region lie the Yorkshire Wolds, a broad crescent of rolling chalk hills that stretch from the coast at Flamborough curving westwards towards Malton and then south to the Humber Bridge. The city of Kingston upon Hull on the northern banks of the Humber estuary is by far and away the most populated area, but apart from the coastal resort of Bridlington and the market town of Beverley, the region is sparsely populated, leaving large swathes of relatively uninhabited countryside to explore.

The whole of the Humber estuary is a designated SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) for its bird life and grey seal population, and there are several nature reserves on its banks including Spurn Point and Blacktoft Sands. The entire east coast is renowned for its marine wildlife and the twin reserves at Bempton and Flamborough Head are both nationally important seabird sanctuaries. Inland the peace and quiet of the Yorkshire Wolds contain many hidden gems such as Givendale and Wharram Quarry, whilst the floodplains of two major water courses, the rivers Hull and Derwent both have top nature reserves - Tophill Low and the Lower Derwent Valley.

Footer Image - Spurn Point

Footer Image E.Yorks map attribution - Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons