Dearne Valley: Old Moor - RSPB
As a lifelong twitcher (birdwatcher) I’m always keen to find places in nature which are accessible, it can often be a challenge and on plenty of occasions weather dependent. However, a local RSPB centre I have recently visited was just that, for my scooter at least.
Located on an old mining site in the Dearne Valley, Barnsley in South Yorkshire (S73 0YF), it is a 220 acre wetland housing a variety of birds including gulls, lapwings, greylags, with the highlight being the bittern and kingfisher, and the marsh harrier circling and perching in the fields behind. With a number of hides, each having lower accessible viewing windows.
Upon arrival the car park is spacious, firm underfoot with a number of disabled bays, all spots are free parking. The path to the nature reserve is flat and you arrive initially at a volunteer hut, where we were greeted by wonderful staff, who were welcoming and offered plenty of guidance. Just behind the hut is a lovely courtyard, where there is a cafe, shop, tables and chairs and toilets, of which there are two accessible, changing place toilets, the entry is a little bit of a squeeze, but could easily fit my scooter.
To enter the reserve you can go through the shop, or back past the hut, all the ground is flat and firm underfoot which is plenty wide enough for scooters to ride along. I would recommend picking up a map from the information hut which indicates the locations and percentages of the inclines, so you can make your choices and which path to take. As we entered we chose the shortest path, knowing it was heading towards the bittern hide (and it was also the hottest day of the year, so wanted to limit walking), there is plenty of signage around (although doesn’t have braille) and the paths are clearly set out, getting lost would be difficult. There are also a number of benches to take a rest. As we headed towards the bittern hide I went over a wooden bridge, but again it was firm under food and felt completely secure and safe, on arrival at the hide there was an incline, apparently the steepest of them all, however my scooter was perfectly able to get up and down, the hide has a door which might need assistance to open independently and had a little threshold step, but again, suitable for my scooter. Once in the hide there was a lower accessible viewing area, the viewing screens were up, and might be difficult to open if they weren't already, but even if they were down it was possible to view through the glass. The lower accessible viewing area had individual chairs, which could be moved to wheel in the space and view from the hatch, the high non-accessible viewing areas had a bench placed in front for people to sit and it wouldn’t be possible to move the bench for one person, as it would take away the seating for all there. The lower accessible viewing section was perfect for me, there was a little ledge in-front to place binoculars when resting, or to lean on to see further.
We spent a fair amount of time in the hide, and it is honestly one of the most peaceful places to be, looking out on to the wetland, in silence, with a pair of binoculars just slowly looking through the landscape to see that prized bird! Whilst there we saw the bittern, 5 marsh harrier, plenty geese, lapwings, coots and more, however for me the bonus was seeing my favourite, the kingfisher. It was initially a flash of electric blue across the water, I may have shrieked my delight and everyone in the hide whipped up their binoculars to see the little fella perched on a reed, he was there for about 15 minutes, bobbing in and out of the water catching and eating fish, until he dropped down through the water, snatched up a fish and went on his way.
At this point we took our moment to leave and make our way back, taking the same route.
If you are a fan of bird watching and are in the area, I would highly recommend a visit, this is one of the most accessible RSPB places I have visited and I will be back in the summer. Hopefully my little electric blue friend will be around again.