Sprotbrough Flash is a nature reserve south of

Sprotbrough Sprotbrough is a village in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, west of the centre. With Cusworth to the north, it forms the civil parish of Sprotbrough and Cusworth. Sprotbrough village had a population of 3,321 at the 2011 ...

near

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated i ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. I ...

, on the north bank of the River Don. It is named after its main feature, a long, water-filled depression parallel to the river. The reserve is managed by the

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charitable non-governmental organisation, one of the UK's 46 county-based Wildlife Trusts. It's focus is nature conservation and it works to achieve a nature-rich Yorkshire with healthy and resilient ecosyste ...

. It overlaps with Sprotbrough Gorge, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The size of the protected area is 28 hectares (0.28 square kilometers). The

Trans Pennine Trail The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...

passes through the area.

History

Two hundred and eighty million years ago, during the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...

period, dolomite (magnesium limestone) formed here. This has been mined since the mid-19th century. Mining has since stopped and wildlife has returned to this area. The original quarry can still be seen opposite the River Don, adjacent to the Sprotbrough Flash lake. Worthy of note, the

woolly rhinoceros The woolly rhinoceros (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a me ...

lived in this area in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

. Bones from this creature have been discovered here. The long lake from which the name of the reserve is derived is the result of subsidence caused by the collapse of old coal mines.

Wildlife

Heron screen overlooking Sprotborough flash

Sightings of a range of bird and land life have been noted here. The fauna includes

common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...

s, brown hare,

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogn ...

Eurasian bittern The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris'') is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (''B. s. stellaris'') breeding in parts of Europe an ...

ruddy darter The ruddy darter (''Sympetrum sanguineum'') is a species of dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. Distribution The ruddy darter is to be found in temperate regions throughout Europe great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in ...

. Plant life includes

common twayblade ''Neottia ovata'' (formerly ''Listera ovata''), the common twayblade or eggleaf twayblade, is a terrestrial orchid widespread across much of Europe and Asia Description The flowering stems are typically tall, occasionally up to . There are t ...

common spotted orchid ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'', the common spotted orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'' is one of Europe's commonest wild orchids. It is widespread across much of Europe, with the range ext ...

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus '' Euony ...

, small leaved lime, woodruff,

greater stitchwort ''Rabelera holostea'', known as greater stitchwort, greater starwort, and addersmeat, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Stellaria'', as ''Stellaria holostea'', but was t ...

sanicle ''Sanicula'' is a genus of plants in family Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae), the same family to which the carrot and parsnip belong. This genus has about 45 species worldwide, with at least 22 in North America.Focus on Rarities (from the monthly ...

, and the

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

References

{{Lakes in Yorkshire Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Nature reserves in South Yorkshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in South Yorkshire Lakes of South Yorkshire Quarries in England