Sunday, 14th December 2025: litterpicking and clearing paths
Our next work party is on Sunday 14th December when we will be litterpicking and clearing paths.
We are meeting at 9.50 am and working from 10 am to 12 noon. The meeting point is the Slabbering Baby entrance to the woods on Buckstone Road. See the map below. If coming by car, Leeds City Council have imposed parking restrictions on Buckstone Road. There is parking elsewhere in the Buckstones or the Village Green carpark. Over the Winter, we can also park by the cricket pavilion.
We will supply all necessary tools and equipment. Please wear sturdy boots or shoes.
Calling for new volunteers
Friends of Adel Woods usually get eight to twelve volunteers at each of our work parties, but there is so much to do that we could do with twelve to eighteen! We meet once a month on a Saturday or a Sunday, so if you are looking for something to do at the weekend get in touch!
We are a very friendly and relaxed group. The emphasis is on enjoying our activities – which definitely means taking the time to enjoy the scenery, and having a chat with our fellow volunteers!
We are always pleased to welcome new volunteers, so if you would like to help maintain Adel Woods, make new friends, and get some fresh air and exercise, please contact us by leaving a comment on this website.
In the meantime ….
Please browse through our blog posts to find out what Friends of Adel Woods have been doing – all the way back to August 2009! Here are links to our birdsong walk on the 4th May our litterpicking and work on Adel Bog on the 13th April and our fungal foray on the 5th October
A note on Covid 19
Covid 19 is still out there. Please do not join us if
- you have symptoms of corona virus
- you have received a positive test, even if you have no symptoms
- you have been advised to self-isolate
- you have been in contact with someone with covid symptoms or who has been advised to self-isolate.
Thursday, 22nd May 2025: Annual General Meeting
Our Annual General Meeting took place on Thursday, 22nd May. We had a successful meeting. More details can be found here AGM
Our new tree popper
We are delighted to announce that on 2nd November 2023 we took delivery of our very own Tree Popper – a tool which is incredibly useful for removing small saplings with a trunk size up to about 2.5 centimetres.
The funding for the purchase of the tree popper was provided by a grant from Alwoodley Parish Council, for which we are very grateful. Thank you Alwoodley!
Amethyst Deceivers photographed by Martin Black in Adel Woods in November 2022
Purple hairstreak butterflies found in Adel Woods
Thank you to the Worrilows for these beautiful photos of purple hairstreak butterflies in Adel Woods taken on the 16th July 2022. Last August they found two of these butterflies on an oak tree bordering the disused rugby pitch to the north of Crag Lane.
Purple Hairstreaks seem to be moving northwards with climate change – they used to be found only in southern areas. They are found on oak trees and it is hard to say how common they are because they spend their time up in the canopy where the main adult food source is honeydew – a rich sugary liquid excreted by aphids and other insects as they feed on plant sap.
The Worrilows have also found green hairstreak butterflies on Adel Moor three years running – see the article below.
Green Hairstreak Butterflies on Adel Moor
For the third year running, Green Hairstreak Butterflies have been found on Adel Moor. Although this species is found throughout the UK, in the Leeds area it has until now been found only on Otley Chevin.
For more information and photos please click here: 17th April 2022
Leeds University Peregrines
They don’t belong to Leeds University, but peregrine falcons are nesting in the top of Leeds University’s Parkinson Building and are now incubating four eggs. In Spring 2018 and 2019 they successfully raised seven chicks. In 2020 they were seen now and again on the nesting platform but did not nest. In 2021 they laid three eggs in late March but, unfortunately, none hatched.
Breeding activity usually starts in February and March and you can keep a watch on what is happening this year via two live webcams at this link Leeds Peregrines. Click on the camera 1 picture and you will know that the picture is live because you will see the traffic moving at the top of the screen. From experience, I recommend looking at the link on computer or tablet as a mobile phone may not be able to show the live streaming.
The website has a fantastic blog written by Paul Wheatley (@leedsbirder).
Paul Wheatley has taken some amazing footage of the peregrines and other wildlife. Have a look at his films of peregrines on vimeo – peregrines – and then browsing through the rest of them.
We hope that you enjoy exploring them.
Ring Necked Parakeets in Leeds
Steve Joul has been observing a flock of Ring Necked Parakeets in Roundhay Park: see our blog post for details
Our new orchard in Adel Wood.
On the 18th March 2021 Steve Joul planted some fruit trees in Adel Woods as part of Leeds City Council’s Woodland Creation scheme – see our blog post for more details.
New Interpretation panels in Adel Woods
As part of the Wilderness on Your Doorstep project in the Meanwood Valley, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Adel Woods was allocated three interpretation panels to be sited (…see more)
Improvements to the Meanwood Valley Trail at the Slabbering Baby
At the end of February 2021, Leeds City Council started work to improve the path in the area of the Slabbering Baby. There has been a longstanding problem because (…see more)
The benefits of Spending Time in Nature
See our blog for the health benefits of a walk on the wild side!
Steve Joul’s peregrinations and observations
Steve has been sending me photographs of nature he has seen over the last few months.
Here are some wild flowers photographed on the 31st October. I think that you will agree that they lift the spirits!
And here is a post of the awesome murmuration of starlings at Fairburn Ings when Steve visited on the 27th November 2020.
The flora and fauna of Adel Woods
Click on the images below for a better view of some of the flora and fauna of Adel Woods!
Assorted sightings
A family of local nature enthusiasts have found an unusual colony of green hairstreak butterflies on Adel Moor, and I have received reports of newts in Adel Pond, and videos of thrush chicks and badgers. I have posted on our blog entries about newts, butterflies and moths in Adel Woods, and CCTV footage of badgers.
In May 2020, Barbara and I were looking at our garden pond and saw a blue military transporter of a dragonfly flitting around. It turns out it was a broad-bodied chaser – a male, the female is green-brown. Interestingly, it is normally found in southern and central England and South Wales, so it looks as if the species is moving northwards with climate change. I am sorry it is not a very good picture – it didn’t stay in the same place for long and I took it with my iPhone. It is resting on a purple iris.
And while you are on our website, why not browse some of our blog entries!
Mailing list
If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please post a comment on the website – it won’t be published but will come through to us as an email.
Another way of keeping in touch is to follow this website. At the bottom right of the screen (on a computer) you should see a follow button. Click on the button and follow the instructions and each time a new post is put on our blog, a copy will be sent to you as an attractive email. If you ever want to unsubscribe, every email sent to you from the website has an Unsubscribe button and you just have to click on it and the job is done.
FOAW do not use your email address and will not pass it on to anyone else.
Note: FOAW cannot subscribe you to the website or unsubscribe you from it: you have to do it yourself.
Friends of Adel Woods 
Hi does adel bog area need some kind of water management it seems to dry out in summer.thanks mark pedder.
Thanks for your kind comments Mark. Adel Woods is part of the Meanwood Valley Local Nature Reserve so it does have a formal nature conservation designation reflecting its wildlife value but also its value for recreation and education. Ranger Steve Joul.
dipper seen on stone in stream near bridge on stairfoot lane today.
That’s great, thanks for mentioning this. When I was based in Meanwood Park in the late eighties one came to fight his reflection in a window every day. He nested under a bridge on top of the sewage outfall pipe!
Hello, again, from Victoria, B.C.
I have a small correction to my earlier comment regarding my grandfather. He sailed to Canada in 1904. Looking forward to hearing back from you!
Hi Carole, Thanks for your comment on Friends of Adel Woods website. We would definitely be interested in receiving copies of the photographs of Adel Moor and Stairfoot Cottage. You can see lots of pictures of Adel Moor in the blog on our website – it is still there though I suspect smaller than it was 120 years ago. If you are able to scan the photographs, please email them to me at foaw@me.com. Yours, Roger Gilbert, chair of Friends of Adel Woods.
Two old family photos of Adel led me to your blog and a week of very interesting reading. My plan was to parcel out the entries over a longer period but then I began binge reading to find answers to questions such as, “What is a Slabbering Baby?” (I discovered the answer in your May, 2017 entry.) I enjoyed all of the photos and entries especially those demonstrating the progress you’ve made over the years.
I marvel at the numbers of trees you’ve cleared from the paths, bags of garbage removed, stairs built, events hosted, etc.
The Buck Stone is huge and I love the picture of friends posing on it in the sun! How many acres is the group working to clear on Adel Moor?
Thanks for all you’re doing for the community. The folks who come out to walk the trails are lucky ducks!!
Just learned of your wonderful work today, from my son in Ilkely, while I am far away in Melbourne, Australia. We used to live in Adel and my children and I spent many happy hours in Adel Woods, N of Stairfoot lane by Adel Beck, and around the Crag. We used to hunt for crayfish and golf balls. I would insert a photo from 1980, but can’t find a way to get it into this comment. Help please …
Hi Jim, Thanks for your compliments on our work: we are delighted that news of our work has spread to Australia! Thanks for your two photographs – reminders of happy times! Unfortunately, I cannot find a way of adding them into this response. Wishing you all the best for the future. Yours, Roger, chair of FOAW
It has come to my attention while talking to fellow ecologists that our lovely area of Adel Woods is probably the richest area for nature in the whole of West Yorkshire. This is due to the retention of ecological features such as the heath, bog, meadow and pond that are the focus of attention from Friends Of Adel Woods, features that have disappeared from many other areas. We also have many types of woodland and the becks which are home to countless other species. Steve Joul.
Leeds microscopical society are having pond life meeting Monday June 6th 10am methodist Church Hall on the avenue Ls17. All welcome free to attend. We will be looking at water life from a local sample. Be prepared to be amazed.
There is fallen tree branch and Holly Bush at the tunnel top right hand corner of plantation above Rugby club… May need chainsaw type clearance
Top right 30 yard tunnel under Bush on main path now blocked at end due to large fallen branch
hi, when will it be possible to book on the bat walk this Wednesday? I’m hoping to come with 2 others
Cheers
Tim