See Red Kite at Londesborough Park

  • Londesborough Urns
Londesborough Park offers the ideal setting to spot Red Kites. Although these magnificent birds can be seen almost anywhere in this part of the Yorkshire Wolds, they tend to prefer estates or parkland like Londesborough Park, which provide a good food supply with old mature trees for roosting and nesting.

Londesborough Park is a delightful, formerly landscaped park of pasture woodland and a lake on the south-west edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, immediately south of the village of Londesborough. It once formed the grounds of a manor house (now demolished), which dated back to medieval times.

The Park is a great place for family visits, with plenty of paths for children to explore and opportunities to experience nature up close. February is a wonderful time to visit, especially on Snowdrop Sundays, when a carpet of brilliant flowers covers the woodland floor.

Watch out for magnificent Red Kites during your visit, which can be seen flying gracefully above the Yorkshire Wolds landscape. Although sightings are now common, seventy years ago the Red Kite would have been missing from the Yorkshire skies, as just two pairs were known to exist in the UK (in mid-Wales). The re-introduction of the Red Kite in the 1990s at Harewood House is one of our most successful conservation stories, with over 1,000 breeding pairs now known to exist.

Visit on Bank Holiday Sundays and Mondays and you will find refreshments in the Reading Room close to the Church. The Church is also open on Wednesdays during the Summer for a visit, when refreshments are also available.

Downloads

Location map

© Crown copyright and database rights 2013. Ordnance Survey 100021930.
Start: 
Towthorpe Corner Picnic Site
Distance: 
5 km (3 miles)
Time: 
2 hours
OS Map: 
OS 294