Late Sunshine Adventure – Noddle Hill Nature Reserve

Having bemoaned the passing of summer last weekend, today saw Mr RJC82 take a late summer adventure. Having crawled out of bed this morning feeling somewhat weakened by man flu it was time for a walk. And why not, the sun was shining and the outside thermometer read a very pleasant 22c. So without further ado, we set off for Noddle Hill Nature Reserve.

Location: Noddle Hill Way, Bransholme, Hull, HU7 4YP

Run By: Hull City Council

Parking: Ample – free

Home to a tranquil nature reserve which has a wide variety of walking routes as well as a well stock fishing lake, the site contains a children’s play area, numerous picnic tables and spots as well as a number of sports pitches.

The nature reserve is an ideal location for a very pleasant family walk at all times of year. Throughout the site you will see if you are quiet a large and varied variety of species of wildlife as the seasons change. Our early morning walk today saw a number of different birds throughout the fields, as well as a distant fox.

Stretching to an impressive area of 48 hectares. The reserve is rich in a broad variety of natural habitats, including wetlands for great crested newts, rare water beetles, grass snakes and water voles. All of these animals can be seen throughout the year. You will in the summer months also see a broad variety of butterflies and moths enjoying their surroundings.

We took a walk around the perimeter of the reserve as well as following a couple of inner loops. To our surprise the walk ended up being around 3km. For an inner city location that’s quite impressive. Talking of inner city, the one thing that can’t be denied is that you are at best on the edge of a large city.

Walking back in the direction of the car park, you cannot fail to see the high rise tower blocks of Bransholme. However, given how close they appear you will be surprised and pleased at how detached from the big city you still feel.

Winter walking

If you are going out of the summer season you would be well advised to take as a minimum sturdy walking shoes. Although if you have them wellies would be better still. Due to the lay of the land you will come across many dips and hollows. Having been in winter before these can be undeniably squelchy. However that all just adds to the charm of it.

Personally I love visiting here for these reasons. It’s only a couple of miles from home for me. Yet, when facing in the right direction it is very quiet and you almost feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.

A local community volunteer organisation called The North Carr Conservation Group can usually be found on and around the site helping to maintain the site, and identifying all the animals, birds and plant life.