England and Wales collectively have close to 300 National Nature Reserves (NNRs), places that were set up to conserve our landscapes, seascapes and wildlife. Most of our hostels are close to at least one NNR — here are four to know about.
YHA Haworth
One of the country’s newest National Nature Reserve is Bradford Pennine Gateway. It was created in May of this year as part of the ‘King’s Series’, an initiative which is seeing King Charles III designate five new NNRs in each of the first five years of his rule.
It’s not hard to see why this one was chosen. Split over eight different sites on the outskirts of Bradford — including Ilkley Moor, Shipley Glen and Baildon Moor — it covers much of what is often described as Brontë Country, encompassing the brooding landscapes that inspired the famous literary sisters.
Wildlife across these eight West Yorkshire sites includes notable birds such as golden plovers, curlews and short-eared owls, while the land itself is an important mosaic of moorland, heathland, peat bog and wetland.
YHA Haworth, less than 10 miles from central Bradford in the heart of Brontë Country, provides a great base for exploring the NNR. It’s set in a Victorian Gothic mansion brimming with period features and granting ready access to the surrounding countryside. If you’re keen to combine the rural and the urban, meanwhile, it’s also worth noting that Bradford is this year’s UK City of Culture.
YHA Broad Haven
With a gem of a location on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path — a mere stroll away from a long, sandy Blue Flag beach — YHA Broad Haven has long been a magnet for walkers, families, cyclists and seaside-goers. But there’s more to the place than pretty views. The hostel sits on the curve of the handsome St Brides Bay, with Skomer Island to the south and Ramsey Island to the north — both of which are NNRs.
Both of these islands can be visited by boat. Skomer is a real heart-tugger, hosting one of the most impressive seabird colonies in the UK. In the breeding season, its inlets play home to thousands of puffins, razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes and fulmars, while its windswept, wildflower-dotted interior has a pull of its own. It can be visited from April through to September.
At the northern end of the bay, meanwhile, Ramsey Island is very much a draw in its own right, with high cliffs, swooping choughs and soaring peregrine falcons.
It’s open until the end of October, which also gives the chance to see the grey seal pups born here each autumn.
YHA Dartmoor
The recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the right to wild camp on Dartmoor wasn’t just a rapturously received piece of news for outdoor-lovers. It also shone fresh light onto one of our last areas of wilderness, a place of isolated tors, wild valleys and dramatic expanses of open moorland.
Within its borders, the East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve takes in three interconnected areas within the National Park itself: Trendlebere Down, Yarner Wood and the valley of the River Bovey. Together they take in high moors and wooded riverbanks, with excellent potential for walks and the chance to spot wildlife including woodpeckers, bats and beetles. There’s also a rich human history in the area, with old medieval farmsteads and Bronze Age remains.
Also within the National Park, of course, is YHA Dartmoor, a stone-built getaway surrounded by green woods and rolling contours. Off-road routes for hikers and cyclists both pass close by, and as with so many of our hostels, there’s also a licensed bar — just the thing after a long, blustery day on the all-enfolding moorland.
YHA Sheringham
The coast of North Norfolk has a reputation that goes before it. A trip here is about seaside piers, marine wildlife and long stretches of beautiful shoreline — not to mention some of the best fish and chips in the country. And YHA Sheringham, which sits midway along the celebrated Norfolk Coast Path, is well placed for making the most of it all.
It’s just a five-minute wander from the centre of Sheringham itself, a traditional fishing town looking out across the North Sea and still boasting a heritage steam railway. Looking slightly further afield, it’s also under 10 miles from the Blakeney Point National Nature Reserve, the home of the country’s biggest grey seal colony. Boat trips are on offer year round.
The birdlife, too, is spectacular, not just at Blakeney Point but slightly further along the coast at Holkham, the largest NNR in England. It’s especially renowned for its wintering wildfowl, but birdwatchers will find plenty to train their binoculars on at any time. Oystercatchers, meadow pipits, great skuas and fast-moving sanderlings are among the species you might spot. From time to time, the country’s largest bird of prey — a white-tailed eagle — even shows up!
