Pocklington Canal - June 2013
The Pocklington Canal is a beautiful rural waterway in East Yorkshire. It is nine and a half miles long, flowing from Canal Head near Pocklington to the River Derwent at East Cottingwith.
The canal was completed in 1818 and is part of the inland waterways network of England and Wales. Like many of our canals it became derelict with the coming of the railways.
Considerable restoration work has been done by the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society volunteers. Half the canal is currently navigable and the entire canal has a good towpath.
The Pocklington Canal is one of our finest canals for wildlife. The bridges and locks are important heritage features. This where we go to view and photographs the wonderful birds and Dragonflys.
Click on the first image, then click on the arrow to watch a slide show.
A Special Environment
The Pocklington Canal forms part of an area that is of national and international importance for wildlife. The canal itself has natural banking, used by water voles, and far more aquatic plants than most of our canals. Reeds, along the margin of sections of the canal, provide a habitat for nesting birds.
Thirteen species of damselflies and dragonflies have been recorded on the canal and the Pocklington Canal is recognised as particularly important for the red-eyed damselfly. The male is easily recognised by its prominent reddish brown eyes and blue band near the tail, and there are plenty to be seen when the sun shines.
Swans attract a lot of interest. Moorhen and coot often manage to hide their nests in the vegetation lining the banks but a swan's nest is too big to hide.
Yellow water lilly grow prolifically on the navigable section of the canal and they are at their best in June and July. The canal supports many aquatic plants including fan-leaved water crowfoot, hornwort and lesser water plantain.
Near where it joins the River Derwent, the Pocklington Canal borders Wheldrake Ings, a National Nature Reserve. The Ings land floods and is of considerable importance for wintering wildfowl.
Further information can be seen at: http://www.pocklingtoncanalsociety.org/