Natural England

This summer visitors and volunteers at the fantastic Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve (NNR) have been making use of a new and environmentally friendly travel option called the Peatlands Wayfarer Bus.

The bus links all the major communities around the Humberhead Levels and Isle of Axholme and allows people to travel around and get to the different access points of the NNR, therefore, increasing its visitor numbers with a green method of transport. It also allows easy access from Thorne North railway station.

The bus has been a great success, especially with local walking groups who regularly use the service. The past few weekends have seen between 20 – 30 happy passengers. This is great news, but there is still room for more people, especially individuals and couples who are out for the day.

Buses run every Sunday until the end of September. This includes additional services on August Bank Holiday.

The service does a round trip of roughly 41.5 miles starting at Thorne North railway station and follows a route to Moorends, Crowle, Belton, Sandtoft, Epworth, Haxey, Wroot, Lindholme, Hatfield Woodhouse and Stainforth. It runs four times each day of the project at 8.30am, 10.30am, 1.30pm, and 3.30pm.

Natural England, Humberhead Levels Green Tourism Forum (HLGTF) and South Yorkshire Travel (SYT) have joined forces to set up the service.

Janet Canning, Natural England Community Support Officer said, ‘the service has been running since April and it has proved very popular with the public. It’s so convenient and easy to use, plus it allows for easy access to Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve. The reserve is a fantastic place to visit, with a whole host of wildlife and habitats to see and experience. Anyone who is looking for an enjoyable way to spend a summers day should think about coming down to see us’.

Note for Editors

For further information, contact Howard Botting on 01609 767439 or 077860 28824 howard.botting@naturalengland.org.uk or Emma MacDonald on 0113 2303533 or 07900 608073 emma.macdonald@naturalengland.org.uk

1. National Nature Reserves
National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are some of the very finest sites in England for wildlife and geology, and provide great opportunities for people to experience nature. They have been established to protect and manage the special wildlife habitats, species and geological features that occur there. These features are of national and often international importance, and many NNRs are important for study and research. Almost all NNRs have some form of access provision – many are fully open throughout the year. There are 222 throughout England. For more information about NNRs please visit our web site.

2. Natural England
Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. We increase opportunities to make the natural environment an enriching part of people’s everyday lives, and improve its long term security by contributing to the sustainable management of our natural resources. www.naturalengland.org.uk/