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 ce ...

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 in ...

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. In N ...

, 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. It overlaps with Sprotbrough Gorge, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. 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 Paleoz ...

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 (geology), 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 fina ...

. 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 Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

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 kingfishers, brown hare, grass snakes, Eurasian bitterns,

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 Europegreat crested grebe. Plant life includes common twayblade, common spotted orchid,

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 (biology), 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 (fro ...

, 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