Town End Farm, holiday accommodation in Yorkshire

A luxurious escape to the North York Moors

Tel: 01751 417960 Email: relax@townendfarm.org.uk

Bracken Bashing in the North York Moors

by | Jun 24, 2025 | Latest, North York Moors

A group of six smiling people stand on a wooden viewing platform, holding tools resembling slashing hooks. They are dressed in outdoor gear, including jackets, hiking boots, and hats, under a cloudy sky with a treeline visible in the background.
Ready to Bracken Bash

A Taste of Visitor Volunteering

Today, we took part in a trial visitor volunteering session with the North York Moors National Park. Currently, volunteering opportunities are typically aimed at local residents who donate their time to support the Park. Over 700 individuals volunteer their time across the North York Moors, engaging in a variety of tasks. These activities often include maintaining public rights of way, surveying ancient monuments and planting new woodlands.

Along with fellow North York Moors Champions, we gathered this morning for a couple of hours of “bracken bashing” in the Hole of Horcum. The purpose was to experience a potential activity that Park visitors could volunteer for. Essentially serving as a “micro” or taster session lasting just a few hours.

A clear path, marked by disturbed brown earth and some green growth, stretches through a vibrant field of green ferns under a cloudy sky, leading towards distant hills.
Our first attempt
A group of people, dressed in outdoor gear, walk along a narrow, grassy path through a landscape of heather and tall grasses under an overcast sky.
Striding out at Hole of Horcum
wo individuals, seen from behind, are walking through a dense field of green ferns on a cloudy day, with a valley and distant hills visible in the background. One person wears a red cap and maroon top, while the other has a white cap and a bright pink backpack.
Path before bracken bashing

Bracken Bashing

If you’ve visited the North York Moors, or many other UK national parks, you’ve likely seen bracken growing abundantly. Bracken is a common, invasive fern that can rapidly dominate areas, reducing biodiversity by shading out other plants. Essentially, it’s a thug of a plant that crowds out other species, negatively impacting the diversity of plant and animal life.

Bracken bashing is a method used to control its spread by physically damaging its stems and rhizomes. This can be achieved using tools like slashing hooks or rollers, or by allowing grazing animals to trample and bruise the plants. The objective is to weaken the bracken over time, preventing it from outcompeting other plants and harming habitats.

A group of six people in outdoor clothing are standing in a grassy area surrounded by bracken, with hills in the background under an overcast sky. One person on the left is actively engaged in what appears to be bracken bashing with a long tool.
A demo of Bracken Bashing
Two individuals are seen from behind, one wearing a blue jacket and yellow hood, the other a darker jacket, working on a path amidst dense green bracken under an overcast sky with rolling hills in the background.
Clearing underway
A hillside is covered in blooming purple heather and green foliage under a cloudy sky with patches of blue.
Heather in bloom
A man in a red t-shirt and black jacket, holding a tool, stands next to a woman in a green jacket and red gloves, both smiling at the camera in a grassy, hilly landscape under a cloudy sky.
Wet but happy

The Task

Our task was to clear bracken from several footpaths in the Hole of Horcum and experience the hands-on nature of the work. On our arrival at the Hole of Horcum, shrouded in clouds, it wasn’t the most inspiring start to the day. However, as Wainwright wisely stated, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”.

Equipped with our slashing hooks and looking somewhat like a group of unruly villagers up to no good, we hiked into the park led by our team leader, Simon. We began on a wide path with younger bracken plants and were surprised at how quickly we made an impact. The couple of hours flew by as we alternated between swinging our hooks and conversing. Together, we cleared several long stretches of path while also enjoying the spectacular views. As always, we learned more about the local flora, some lesser-known walks in the area, and the people we were working with. We even timed the completion of one steep path perfectly with a runner who powered up our newly cleared footpath. This runner, however, just missed out on sharing a chocolate cake brought by Emily, the North York Moors Regenerative Tourism Manager.

Bracken Bashing was a fantastic way to spend a morning, get some exercise, and feel like we’d made a small but positive difference. And as we made our way back, the sun even made an appearance.

Food for thought for future volunteering for visitors. As well as ourselves… we suspect that it won’t be the last time that we volunteer for the North York Moors.

Five people, dressed in outdoor clothing and holding tools, are standing on a grassy path with a vast, rolling landscape of fields, hills, and a cloudy sky behind them.
Job done
A person in a blue jacket and bright yellow hood is actively engaged in "bracken bashing" using a tool in a field of green ferns under an overcast sky, with two other individuals visible further down a path.
Path clearing underway