Bishop Wilton Deep Dale

Also within

East Riding of Yorkshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Chalk

Description

Area, 43.4 hectares 107.1 ac Description Bishop Wilton Deep Dale is a chalk grassland site in a dry valley complex exhibiting a variety of aspects. Tor Grass Brachyopodium pinnatum is local dominant, interspersed with patches of finer grasses such as sheep’s fescue Festuca ovina, red fescue F. rubra, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus, quaking grass Briza media and sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum. Typical chalk herbs which are locally frequent include harebell Campanula rotundifolia, glaucaus sedge Carex flacca, eyebright Euphrasia nemorosa, lady’s bedstraw Galium verum, autumn gentian Gentianella amarella, mouse ear hawkweed Pilosella officinarum, bird’s foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus, purging flax Linum catharticum, burnet saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga, cowslip Primula veris, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba and thyme Thymus praecox. In general the south and east facing slopes are richer than the north or west facing ones; north facing slopes are characterised by pignut Conopodium majus, with sweet vernal grass, field wood rush Luzula campestris and barren strawberry Potentilla sterilis. The grassland is used for intermittent cattle grazing and scattered hawthorn Crataegus monogyna is wide spread, while dense, well grown hawthorn is present as a game covert in one locality. Bare chalk along cattle paths and in a small chalk pit is colonised by parsley piert Aphanes arvensis, whitlow grass Erophila verna, dove’s foot crane’s bill Geranium molle, mouse ear hawkweed, thyme and thyme leaved speedwell Veronica serpyllifolia.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.